Article
Biology
Maikel Castellano-Pozo, Georgios Sioutas, Consuelo Barroso, Josh P. Prince, Pablo Lopez-Jimenez, Joseph Davy, Angel-Luis Jaso-Tamame, Oliver Crawley, Nan Shao, Jesus Page, Enrique Martinez-Perez
Summary: This study reveals the distinct roles of REC-8 and COH-3/4 complexes during meiosis. REC-8 complexes provide sister chromatid cohesion and DNA repair, while COH-3/4 complexes control higher-order chromosome structure.
Article
Biology
David E. Almanzar, Spencer G. Gordon, Chloe Bristow, Antonia Hamrick, Lexy von Diezmann, Hanwenheng Liu, Ofer Rog
Summary: During meiosis, double-strand DNA breaks are repaired to form exchanges between parental chromosomes. The synaptonemal complex plays a role in promoting exchanges between both parental chromosomes and sister chromatids, by recruiting proexchange factors to repair sites. This mechanism is independent of specific chromosome conformation.
LIFE SCIENCE ALLIANCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Leigh Donnellan, Clifford Young, Bradley S. Simpson, Varinderpal S. Dhillon, Maurizio Costabile, Peter Hoffmann, Michael Fenech, Permal Deo
Summary: This study reveals that the glycolytic by-product MGO can drive chromosomal instability by preventing sister chromatid separation. It identifies several MGO-modified mitotic proteins, including those involved in the separation and cohesion of sister chromatids.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Paul Batty, Christoph C. H. Langer, Zsuzsanna Takacs, Wen Tang, Claudia Blaukopf, Jan-Michael Peters, Daniel W. Gerlich
Summary: Genetic information is stored in folded linear DNA molecules inside cells. During cell division, sister chromatids need to be disentangled and condensed into separate bodies for proper separation. In human cells, sister chromatids are extensively resolved during interphase, depending on the loop-extruding activity of cohesin. Increasing cohesin's looping capability can further enhance sister DNA resolution, even in the absence of mitosis-specific activities.
Article
Cell Biology
Julia A. Loose, Francis R. G. Amrit, Thayjas Patil, Judith L. Yanowitz, Arjumand Ghazi
Summary: Reproductive health impacts organismal aging, but the effect of germline integrity on somatic aging is poorly understood. This study shows that disruption of meiosis, a germline restricted process, accelerates somatic aging in Caenorhabditis elegans. Mutants with meiosis dysfunction exhibit transcriptional profiles similar to old worms and aging human tissues. The study also reveals that inactivation of longevity determinants increased the lifespan of normal animals.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhouliang Yu, Hyung Jun Kim, Abby F. Dernburg
Summary: The authors demonstrate that the assembly of the meiotic chromosome axis in worms relies on the activation of the master DNA-damage response kinase ATM, leading to destabilization of the cohesin-unloader WAPL. Similar ATM-dependent WAPL inhibition also occurs in cohesin-rich genomic regions upon DNA-damage induction.
NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Albert W. Hinman, Hsin-Yi Yeh, Baptiste Roelens, Kei Yamaya, Alexander Woglar, Henri-Marc G. Bourbon, Peter Chi, Anne M. Villeneuve
Summary: Meiotic recombination plays essential roles in genetic diversity and genome inheritance, with DSB-3 identified as a protein promoting DSB formation in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. DSB-3 is interdependent with other DSB proteins and its localization supports its role as a homolog of MEI4 in conserved DSB-promoting complexes. Variations in meiotic programs across diverse organisms may contribute to the diversification of essential meiotic machinery components.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Reproductive Biology
Adelita D. Mendoza, Aaron Sue, Olga Antipova, Stefan Vogt, Teresa K. Woodruff, Sarah M. Wignall, Thomas O'Halloran
Summary: The dynamic flux of zinc is essential for meiotic progression in C. elegans embryos and is a conserved feature of germ cell development in a variety of metazoa.
BIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Marie Sarens, Gregory P. Copenhaver, Nico De Storme
Summary: A new method was introduced to quantitatively express chromatid interference (CI) and research showed random involvement of sister chromatids in double CO events across chromosomes in Arabidopsis and maize, indicating an absence of CI. However, on a genome-wide level, CI was found to vary with physical distance between COs, with differing effects in the two plants.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kiyomi Raye Kaneshiro, Thea A. Egelhofer, Andreas Rechtsteiner, Chad Cockrum, Susan Strome
Summary: The transmission of chromatin states from parent cells to daughter cells is important for preserving cell identity. A study on Caenorhabditis elegans showed that alleles inherited without a specific chromatin mark were more likely to be up-regulated in offspring cells, and the tissue context played a role in determining which genes were up-regulated. This study also demonstrated the transgenerational epigenetic transmission of chromatin states in C. elegans.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Sara M. Fielder, Tori Kent, Huiping Ling, Elizabeth J. Gleason, William G. Kelly
Summary: The study investigated the role of the dynein motor complex in homolog pairing in Caenorhabditis elegans. Depletion of dynein light chain (DLC-1) may prevent complete homolog synapsis and lead to abnormal aggregation of SC proteins. Results suggest that DLC-1 may act as a pre-synapsis chaperone-like factor for SYP proteins to regulate their self-association.
Article
Biology
Nicolas Macaisne, Laura Bellutti, Kimberley Laband, Frances Edwards, Laras Pitayu-Nugroho, Alison Gervais, Thadshagine Ganeswaran, Helene Geoffroy, Gilliane Maton, Julie C. Canman, Benjamin Lacroix, Julien Dumont
Summary: During cell division, the microtubule-based spindle plays a crucial role in chromosome segregation. The interaction between spindle microtubules and kinetochores is essential for the proper alignment and segregation of chromosomes. This study focuses on a kinetochore module called the BHC module, which consists of BUB-1, HCP-1/2, and CLS-2, and shows that it stabilizes microtubules, promoting spindle formation and accurate chromosome segregation.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Laura Thomas, Basma Taleb Ismail, Peter Askjaer, Geraldine Seydoux
Summary: Nucleoporins (Nups) assemble nuclear pores that form the permeability barrier between nucleoplasm and cytoplasm. In an intact C. elegans, cytoplasmic Nup foci are condensates of highly cohesive FG repeat-containing nucleoporins (FG-Nups), which are maintained near their solubility limit in the cytoplasm by posttranslational modifications and chaperone activity. Nup foci only appear in developing sperm, oocytes, and embryos, dissolve during M phase, and are dispensable for nuclear pore assembly.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ana Boavida, Diana Santos, Mohammad Mahtab, Francesca M. Pisani
Summary: In eukaryotic cells, a tight connection exists between DNA replication and sister chromatid cohesion via cohesin. Cohesin is loaded onto chromatin in telophase/G1 and converted into a cohesive state during S phase. Down-regulation of DNA replication factors can lead to cohesion defects.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christopher Thomas, Benjamin Wetherall, Mark D. Levasseur, Rebecca J. Harris, Scott T. Kerridge, Jonathan M. G. Higgins, Owen R. Davies, Suzanne Madgwick
Summary: The study reveals an excess of securin over separase in mouse oocytes during meiosis I, with a mechanism promoting securin destruction in prometaphase I. This destruction mechanism relies on specific residues within securin that are exposed when not bound to separase. The authors suggest that this mechanism is crucial for successful meiotic progression in mouse oocytes by ensuring the removal of non-separase-bound securin before metaphase.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Spencer G. Gordon, Lisa E. Kursel, Kewei Xu, Ofer Rog
Summary: The study focused on a protein SYP-1 in the Synaptonemal Complex (SC) in nematodes and identified mutations that have distinct effects on chromosome pairing and information exchange during meiosis. The findings provide new insights into the structure/function relationships within the SC and propose a model linking molecular events in the SC zipper to chromosome-wide regulation. The mutations perturb both chromosome alignment and the regulation of genetic exchanges, suggesting a model where SC brings homologous chromosomes together through two activities: obligate zipping and extending pairing interactions.
Review
Cell Biology
Lexy von Diezmann, Ofer Rog
Summary: Crossover interference is a crucial process in sexual reproduction, but the molecular mechanisms behind it are still debated. Recent research has shed light on how signaling proteins regulate the formation of crossovers, providing new insights into this complex process. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how crossover interference is implemented in meiotic chromosomes.
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hanwenheng Liu, Spencer G. Gordon, Ofer Rog
Summary: Alignment of parental chromosomes during meiotic prophase is crucial for genetic exchanges. In C. elegans, reduced levels of meiotic double-strand breaks or crossovers lead to increased heterologous synapsis, suggesting regulation by break formation or repair, as well as chromosome-specific and nucleus-wide regulation.
Article
Biology
Lisa E. Kursel, Henry D. Cope, Ofer Rog
Summary: Despite highly divergent sequences, essential meiotic proteins such as those in the synaptonemal complex (SC) exhibit highly conserved length and coiled-coil domain structure. This unconventional conservation signature has been found in Drosophila, mammals, and Pristionchus pacificus, suggesting a wide-ranging role of coiled-coils in the structure and function of the SC. Expanding sequence analysis beyond per-site similarity measures can enhance understanding of protein evolution and function.
Article
Biology
David E. Almanzar, Spencer G. Gordon, Chloe Bristow, Antonia Hamrick, Lexy von Diezmann, Hanwenheng Liu, Ofer Rog
Summary: During meiosis, double-strand DNA breaks are repaired to form exchanges between parental chromosomes. The synaptonemal complex plays a role in promoting exchanges between both parental chromosomes and sister chromatids, by recruiting proexchange factors to repair sites. This mechanism is independent of specific chromosome conformation.
LIFE SCIENCE ALLIANCE
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Daniel Liu, Margot Riggi, Hyun O. Lee, Simon L. Currie, David S. Goodsell, Janet H. Iwasa, Ofer Rog
Summary: Condensates have emerged as a new way to understand cell organization and are believed to play important roles in all cellular processes. However, current visual representations of condensates do not effectively communicate the growing knowledge about their formation and function. This limitation can lead to biased interpretations of results and hinder the generation of new hypotheses.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL
(2023)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Spencer G. Gordon, Ofer Rog
Summary: The successful delivery of genetic material to gametes relies on tightly regulated interactions between parental chromosomes, which are brought in close proximity along their length by a conserved chromosomal interface called the synaptonemal complex (SC). Despite known components, the interfaces responsible for SC assembly remain unknown. This study surveys findings from various model systems, with a focus on insights gained from the nematode C. elegans, to synthesize our current understanding of SC structure, dynamics, and biophysical properties, and propose mechanisms for SC assembly.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
David E. Almanzar, Antonia Hamrick, Ofer Rog
Summary: This article introduces a protocol that utilizes the thymidine analog 5-ethyl-30-deoxyur-idine (EdU) in combination with click chemistry and antibody labeling to selectively label sister chromatids in the C. elegans germline for cytological quantification of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs).