Article
Genetics & Heredity
Reine U. Protacio, Mari K. Davidson, Wayne P. Wahls
Summary: Meiosis is a crucial process in the sexual life cycle of eukaryotes, contributing to genetic diversity through independent chromosome assortment and meiotic recombination. Recent studies have shown significant changes in the frequency distribution of recombination between closely related species, subspecies, and isolated populations of the same species. Analysis of recombination plasticity in fission yeast has provided new insights into the mechanisms underlying these rapid evolutionary changes, with different classes of hotspots acting as independently controlled rheostats. This dynamic modulation can rapidly and dramatically alter the global frequency distribution of recombination, contributing to the evolutionarily rapid changes in the recombination landscape.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Enrique J. Schwarzkopf, Omar E. Cornejo
Summary: PRDM9 drives recombination hotspots in certain mammals to ensure successful meiosis, potentially causing competition between meiotic transcription and recombination. The study suggests that PRDM9 might relocate recombination to avoid conflict between the two processes, with retrotransposons possibly playing a role in directing hotspots in the absence of other factors.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Andrea Sevcovicova, Jana Plava, Matej Gazdarica, Eva Szabova, Barbora Huraiova, Katarina Gaplovska-Kysela, Ingrid Cipakova, Lubos Cipak, Juraj Gregan
Summary: The study revealed that phosphorylation sites on the Swi5-Sfr1 complex contribute to its partially functional state during meiosis, but the functional relevance of this phosphorylation remains to be determined.
Review
Cell Biology
Vikash Kumar Yadav, Corentin Claeys Bouuaert
Summary: The article outlines the latest advances in understanding the mechanism of meiotic DSB formation, emphasizing the tight regulation of DSBs and the significance of recombination mechanisms.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Anura Shodhan, Martin Xaver, David Wheeler, Michael Lichten
Summary: The axis protein Hop1 plays a crucial role in promoting double-strand break formation and homologous recombination during meiotic recombination, while other factors may determine the specific recombination pathways involved.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dipesh Kumar Singh, Qichao Lian, Stephanie Durand, Joiselle Blanche Fernandes, Aurelie Chambon, Aurelie Hurel, Birgit Walkemeier, Victor Solier, Rajeev Kumar, Raphael Mercier
Summary: Crossovers (CO) play an important role in the segregation of homologous chromosomal pairs during meiosis. In this study, we identify and investigate the function of the Arabidopsis thaliana HEIP1 homolog in meiotic crossover formation, and find that HEIP1 is highly conserved in eukaryotes. Our results demonstrate that HEIP1 is involved in the class I CO pathway, acting both before crossover designation and during the maturation step of crossover formation.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kim Kiat Lim, Hwei Yee Teo, Yuan Yee Tan, Yi Bing Zeng, Ulysses Tsz Fung Lam, Mahesh Choolani, Ee Sin Chen
Summary: MTHFR is a key enzyme in the folate metabolic pathway, linked to various human conditions. The fission yeast gene met11(+) shows similar function to MTHFR, affecting chromosome stability and meiotic fidelity. Cooperation among Met11, Rec8, and Sgo1 is crucial for proper genetic inheritance during mitosis and meiosis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stephanie Durand, Qichao Lian, Juli Jing, Marcel Ernst, Mathilde Grelon, David Zwicker, Raphael Mercier
Summary: This study proposes a model for crossover patterning, suggesting that the diffusion of HEI10 along the synaptonemal complex leads to a coarsening process that creates well-spaced crossover-promoting foci. The findings support this model and provide insight into the mechanistic basis of crossover control during meiosis.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Letter
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Benjamin Davies, Anjali Gupta Hinch, Alberto Cebrian-Serrano, Samy Alghadban, Philipp W. Becker, Daniel Biggs, Polinka Hernandez-Pliego, Chris Preece, Daniela Moralli, Gang Zhang, Simon Myers, Peter Donnelly
Summary: Male hybrid offspring often exhibit sterility or subfertility, primarily due to improper chromosome pairing during male meiosis. In subspecies of the house mouse, the histone methyltransferase PRDM9 plays a crucial role in improving the likelihood of successful chromosome synapsis. Genetic manipulation altering PRDM9 binding can rescue chromosome pairing defects and restore fertility in hybrids between Mus musculus and Mus spretus, highlighting additional mechanisms that contribute to reproductive isolation between species.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
R. Blake Billmyre, Michael T. Eickbush, Caroline J. Craig, Jeffrey J. Lange, Christopher Wood, Rachel M. Helston, Sarah E. Zanders
Summary: This study developed a high-throughput insertional mutagenesis approach to identify genes involved in sexual reproduction in fission yeast. They identified hundreds of novel genes contributing to sexual reproduction, including some that affect spore viability and others that are required for growth in low-density conditions. This research provides valuable insights into the genetic contributions to sexual reproduction and identifies potential candidate genes in other eukaryotes, including humans.
Editorial Material
Genetics & Heredity
Charles Addo Nyarko, Annaliese S. Mason
Summary: Polyploids need to segregate homologous chromosomes correctly, which is not only determined by sequence similarity but also under strong genetic control that may vary between lineages. Factors such as partner availability and genome structure may also influence the level of sequence similarity required for crossover formation.
TRENDS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andrew P. Weitz, Marinela Dukic, Leo Zeitler, Kirsten Bomblies
Summary: By studying the variation in recombination rate and its correlation with temperature fluctuations in wild plant populations, we found a plastic response of recombination rate to temperature extremes, potentially leading to meiotic aberrations in nature. Our results suggest that insights from studies conducted in laboratory settings are applicable to understanding natural processes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wan-Chen Li, Chia-Yi Lee, Wei-Hsuan Lan, Tai-Ting Woo, Hou-Cheng Liu, Hsin-Yi Yeh, Hao-Yen Chang, Yu-Chien Chuang, Chiung-Ya Chen, Chi-Ning Chuang, Chia-Ling Chen, Yi-Ping Hsueh, Hung-Wen Li, Peter Chi, Ting-Fang Wang
Summary: Most eukaryotes possess two RecA-like recombinases for interhomolog recombination during meiosis, but some have lost Dmc1. TrRad51 in Trichoderma reesei plays a crucial role in interhomolog recombination and has better mismatch tolerance than ScRad51, evolving ScDmc1-like properties through structural variations.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Shenli Yuan, Tao Huang, Ziyou Bao, Shiyu Wang, Xinyue Wu, Jiang Liu, Hongbin Liu, Zi-Jiang Chen
Summary: The histone methylation reader ZCWPW1 is essential for maintaining H3K9ac by antagonizing HDAC proteins' deacetylation activity, promoting chromatin openness at recombination hotspots and enhancing homologous recombination during meiotic double-strand break repair. Ectopic expression of the germ-cell-specific protein ZCWPW1 in human somatic cells enhances double-strand break repair via homologous recombination, providing new insights into the regulation of meiotic homologous recombination by histone modifications and regulatory proteins.
Article
Plant Sciences
Abdellah Barakate, Mikel Arrieta, Malcolm Macaulay, Sebastian Vivera, Diane Davidson, Jennifer Stephens, Jamie Orr, Miriam Schreiber, Luke Ramsay, Claire Halpin, Robbie Waugh
Summary: This study focused on the role of RTEL1 helicase in plant meiosis and control of recombination using barley as the model. Downregulation of RTEL1 expression specifically in reproductive tissues led to a significant increase of COs at distal chromosomal regions in barley, as revealed by high resolution genome-wide genetic analysis.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)