CYS3, a Hotspot of Meiotic Recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Effects of Heterozygosity and Mismatch Repair Functions on Gene Conversion and Recombination Intermediates

Corresponding author: Alain Nicolas, UMR144, Institut Curie, Section de Recherche, 26 rue d’Ulm, 75248, Paris Cedex 05, France., anicolas{at}curie.fr (E-mail)

Communicating editor: S. JINKS-ROBERTSON

We have examined meiotic recombination at the CYS3 locus. Genetic analysis indicates that CYS3 is a hotspot of meiotic gene conversion, with a putative 5'–3' polarity gradient of conversion frequencies. This gradient is relieved in the presence of msh2 and pms1 mutations, indicating an involvement of mismatch repair functions in meiotic recombination. To investigate the role of mismatch repair proteins in meiotic recombination, we performed a physical analysis of meiotic DNA in wild-type and msh2 pms1 strains in the presence or absence of allelic differences at CYS3. Neither the mutations in CYS3 nor the absence of mismatch repair functions affects the frequency and distribution of nearby recombination-initiating DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Processing of DSBs is also similar in msh2 pms1 and wild-type strains. We conclude that mismatch repair functions do not control the distribution of meiotic gene conversion events at the initiating steps. In the MSH2 PMS1 background, strains heteroallelic for frameshift mutations in CYS3 exhibit a frequency of gene conversion greater than that observed for either marker alone. Physical analysis revealed no modification in the formation of DSBs, suggesting that this marker effect results from subsequent processing events that are not yet understood.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Sasanuma, K. Hirota, T. Fukuda, N. Kakusho, K. Kugou, Y. Kawasaki, T. Shibata, H. Masai, and K. Ohta Cdc7-dependent phosphorylation of Mer2 facilitates initiation of yeast meiotic recombination Genes & Dev., February 1, 2008; 22(3): 398 - 410. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Kauppi, M. Jasin, and S. Keeney Meiotic crossover hotspots contained in haplotype block boundaries of the mouse genome PNAS, August 14, 2007; 104(33): 13396 - 13401. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Sasanuma, H. Murakami, T. Fukuda, T. Shibata, A. Nicolas, and K. Ohta Meiotic association between Spo11 regulated by Rec102, Rec104 and Rec114 Nucleic Acids Res., February 28, 2007; 35(4): 1119 - 1133. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. E. Stone and T. D. Petes Analysis of the Proteins Involved in the in Vivo Repair of Base-Base Mismatches and Four-Base Loops Formed During Meiotic Recombination in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae Genetics, July 1, 2006; 173(3): 1223 - 1239. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Antonell, O. de Luis, X. Domingo-Roura, and L. A. Perez-Jurado Evolutionary mechanisms shaping the genomic structure of the Williams-Beuren syndrome chromosomal region at human 7q11.23 Genome Res., September 1, 2005; 15(9): 1179 - 1188. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Maloisel, J. Bhargava, and G. S. Roeder A Role for DNA Polymerase {delta} in Gene Conversion and Crossing Over During Meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Genetics, July 1, 2004; 167(3): 1133 - 1142. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J. Haring, G. R. Halley, A. J. Jones, and R. E. Malone Properties of Natural Double-Strand-Break Sites at a Recombination Hotspot in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Genetics, September 1, 2003; 165(1): 101 - 114. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. Argueso, A. W. Kijas, S. Sarin, J. Heck, M. Waase, and E. Alani Systematic Mutagenesis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MLH1 Gene Reveals Distinct Roles for Mlh1p in Meiotic Crossing Over and in Vegetative and Meiotic Mismatch Repair Mol. Cell. Biol., February 1, 2003; 23(3): 873 - 886. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				C. Soustelle, M. Vedel, R. Kolodner, and A. Nicolas Replication Protein A Is Required for Meiotic Recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Genetics, June 1, 2002; 161(2): 535 - 547. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. Argueso, D. Smith, J. Yi, M. Waase, S. Sarin, and E. Alani Analysis of Conditional Mutations in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MLH1 Gene in Mismatch Repair and in Meiotic Crossing Over Genetics, March 1, 2002; 160(3): 909 - 921. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A. Clikeman, S. L. Wheeler, and J. A. Nickoloff Efficient Incorporation of Large (>2 kb) Heterologies Into Heteroduplex DNA: Pms1/Msh2-Dependent and -Independent Large Loop Mismatch Repair in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Genetics, April 1, 2001; 157(4): 1481 - 1491. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				T.-F. Wang, N. Kleckner, and N. Hunter Functional specificity of MutL homologs in yeast: Evidence for three Mlh1-based heterocomplexes with distinct roles during meiosis in recombination and mismatch correction PNAS, November 23, 1999; 96(24): 13914 - 13919. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]