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Genetics, Vol. 174, 167-177, September 2006, Copyright © 2006
doi:10.1534/genetics.106.059733

The Meiotic Bouquet Promotes Homolog Interactions and Restricts Ectopic Recombination in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024

1 Corresponding author: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. North, A1-162, P.O. Box 19024, Seattle, WA 98109-1024.
E-mail: gsmith{at}fhcrc.org

Chromosome architecture undergoes extensive, programmed changes as cells enter meiosis. A highly conserved change is the clustering of telomeres at the nuclear periphery to form the "bouquet" configuration. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe the bouquet and associated nuclear movement facilitate initial interactions between homologs. We show that Bqt2, a meiosis-specific protein required for bouquet formation, is required for wild-type levels of homolog pairing and meiotic allelic recombination. Both gene conversion and crossing over are reduced and exhibit negative interference in bqt2{Delta} mutants, reflecting reduced homolog pairing. While both the bouquet and nuclear movement promote pairing, only the bouquet restricts ectopic recombination (that between dispersed repetitive DNA). We discuss mechanisms by which the bouquet may prevent deleterious translocations by restricting ectopic recombination.


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