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Results for “Synaptonemal Complex”

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PubMed1981

Nucleoprotein cytochemistry during oogenesis in a unisexual fish, Poecilia formosa.

Cytochemical methods and electron microscopy were used to study changes in the chemical composition of nuclear, nucleolar and perinuclear bodies during the early stages of oocyte development in Poecilia formosa, an apomictic species of fish that produces only female offspring. Prominent accumulations of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) occur in nucleoli and appear on either side of the nuclear envelope during diplotene. In certain planes of section, RNP material seems to be in transit across this interface. En bloc acid extractions or RNAase treatment abolished basophilia and markedly reduced the electron density of both nucleoli and cytoplasmic nucleolar-like bodies. DNA-specific fluorescent probes such as mithramycin failed to reveal nucleolar cores in poeciliid oocytes, although the same procedures showed unequivocal localization of GC-rich DNA cores within multiple nucleoli of diplotene oocytes from Xenopus laevis or the rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri. Also, cytological hybridization studies, utilizing [3H]rRNA as a probe for nucleolar DNA, failed to show localizations of silver grains above nucleoli in autoradiograms of poeciliid oocytes. Feulgen-stained pachytene oocytes of P. formosa have twice the number of chromosome strands seen in similar stages of oocytes from two, related bisexual species, P. mexicana and P. latipinna. Although the bivalent nature of these chromosomes could not be resolved with the light microscope, configurations resembling, but not identical to, synaptonemal complexes were identified by electron microscopy.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Synapsis in single and double heterozygotes for partially overlapping inversions in chromosome 1 of the house mouse.

Electron microscopic (EM) analysis of synaptonemal complexes (SC) in single and double heterozygotes for the partially overlapping inversions In(1)1Icg, In(1)1Rk and In(1)12Rk in chromosome 1 of the house mouse reveals that synapsis and synaptic adjustment are dependent on the size and location of the inversions and interaction between the latter. Is(1)1Icg contains insertions of the inverted repeats Is(HSR;1C5)1Icg and Is(HSR;1D)2Icg and an inverted euchromatic region. Synaptic adjustment of the D-loops by shortening of the asynapsed segments of the lateral elements belonging to the insertions occurs at the late zytogene to early pachytene stage. Synaptic adjustment of the inversion loops takes place at early to late pachytene. A delay in adjustment was found in the double heterozygotes In(1)1Icg/In(1)1Rk and In(1)1Icg/In(1)12Rk. A correspondence between the lifespan of asynapsis in inverted regions and the probability of association of XY and heteromorphic bivalents was revealed.

Animals↗

PubMed1977

Mouse sex vesicle. C-band and pairing at the light and electron microscope.

C banded mouse pachytene chromsomes were studied with the light and electron microscopes by the whole mount technique. The X and Y chromosomes show pairing by the long, by the short or by both long and short arms. Assuming Lyon's hypothesis, the latter suggests that the Y segment transferred to the X is intercalar. With the light microscope, a negative image of the synaptonemal complex is evidenced.

Animals↗

PubMed1979

Position of the nucleolus within the nuclei of pachytene spermatocytes of Dromiciops australis and Marmosa elegans (Didelphoidea-Marsupialia).

The location of the nucleoli within the nuclei of pachytene spermatocytes, and their relation with the position of the nucleolar organizer region (NOR) was studied. It appears that a terminal NOR determines a peripheral location of the nucleolus, due to the position of the NOR over the synaptonemal complex and to the attachment of the nucleolar chromosome telomeres at the nuclear membrane.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Supernumerary chromosomes and spermatogenesis in a human male carrier.

A 57-year-old patient was referred because of primary sterility. Spermogram and testicular histology showed moderate oligospermia and irregular hypospermatogenesis. Karyotypic analysis revealed the presence of a metacentric supernumerary chromosome. Synaptonemal complex analysis using the surface-spreading technique was undertaken to study the meiotic behaviour of the extra chromosome during the pachytene stages. The relationship of the extra chromosome to the infertility of the carrier is discussed.

Chromosome Aberrations↗

PubMed2002

Dmc1 fluorescent foci in prophase I nuclei of diploid, triploid and hybrid lilies.

We examined the distribution of meiotic epitopes for the Dmc1 protein of lilies in a normal diploid, a triploid, and in a diploid species-hybrid. The triploid has an extra chromosome set; all three sets align, but only two of the three axes intimately pair at a given location. Our findings with the triploid support the idea that retention of the foci until the pachytene stage requires a successful homology check and synaptonemal complex (SC) initiation; the number of foci in the triploid diminishes by approximately 30% from early zygotene to pachytene, and the triploid pachytene values are similar to the pachytene values of the diploid. The species-hybrid lacks chromosome homology, has reduced SC formation and few reciprocal genetic exchanges. In this species-hybrid the number of foci at early zygotene is similar to that in the normal diploid but is dramatically reduced by mid-zygotene. The extent to which the number of Dmc1 foci is reduced is similar to the extent that SC formation is reduced. In contrast the extent of the reduction in reciprocal genetic exchange in the species-hybrid is much greater than the reduction in the number of foci. We conclude that Dmc1 protein is involved in homology checking, but the impact of failure to find homology affects SC formation and reciprocal genetic exchange differentially.

Blotting, Western↗

PubMed2002

Meiotic chromosome missegregation during apyrene meiosis in the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is preceded by an aberrant prophase I.

The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, produces two structurally and genetically distinct types of spermatozoa. The eupyrene spermatozoa are genetically haploid and structurally typical. The apyrene spermatozoa are anucleate and structurally different from eupyrene spermatozoa. To understand further the events contributing to meiotic chromosome missegregation in apyrene spermatocytes, we examined the progression of meiosis in these cells with respect to their eupyrene counterparts. Chromosomal bouquet formation and fusion of nucleolar organizing regions are disrupted in apyrene nuclei. In addition, the chromatin of apyrene nuclei is prematurely and extremely condensed compared with that of eupyrene nuclei. An antibody to the conserved synaptonemal complex protein 3 (SCP3) labeled eupyrene pachytene chromosomes, but not apyrene pachytene chromosomes. In addition, apyrene meiotic spindles are missing a subset of microtubules, which likely include kinetochore microtubules. Because the condensation behavior of meiotic chromatin in apyrene spermatocytes deviates from that of eupyrene spermatocytes, we examined the appearance and distribution of the phosphorylated form of histone H3, but no significant differences in histone H3 phosphorylation were found between apyrene and eupyrene spermatocytes. We argue that because a pachytene checkpoint is not initiated in apyrene spermatocytes, this system may provide a way to understand better the underlying biochemical connections between pairing, recombination, synapsis, kinetochore assembly and segregation of chromosomes during meiosis in a higher eukaryote.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Genetic and cytological characterization of the recombination protein RAD-51 in Caenorhabditis elegans.

We investigated the role of Caenorhabditis elegans rad-51 during meiotic prophase. We showed that rad-51 mutant worms are viable, have no defects in meiotic homology recognition and synapsis but exhibit abnormal chromosomal morphology and univalent formation at diakinesis. During meiosis RAD-51 becomes localized to distinct foci in nuclei of the transition zone of the gonad and is most abundant in nuclei at late zygotene/early pachytene. Foci then gradually disappear from chromosomes and no foci are observed in late pachytene. RAD-51 localization requires the recombination genes spo-11 and mre-11 as well as chk-2, which is necessary for homology recognition and presynaptic alignment. Mutational analysis with synapsis- and recombination-defective strains, as well as the analysis of strains bearing heterozygous translocation chromosomes, suggests that presynaptic alignment may be required for RAD-51 focus formation, whereas homologous synaptonemal complex formation is required to remove RAD-51 foci.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Correlation of meiotic events in testis sections and microspreads of mouse spermatocytes relative to the mid-pachytene checkpoint.

In mouse, asynaptic meiotic mutants arrest at Testis Epithelial Stage IV. This arrest is 4.5 days after homologous chromosomes begin to synapse and approximately 2.5 days after synapsis is usually completed. To correlate cytological events with meiotic progression in testis and to determine which meiotic events are normally completed by Stage IV, we induced spermatogenic arrest by placing mice on a vitamin A deficient diet. Subsequent injection of retinoic acid and a return to a normal diet resulted in resumption of spermatogenesis with all spermatocytes proceeding through meiosis in a highly synchronous cohort. Between Days 11 and 16 post-injection we prepared one testis for immunocytological and the other for histological evaluation, then used antibodies to SCP3 and either RPA, or MLH1 to follow quantitative changes in synapsis and recombination. RPA was found at sites along the synaptonemal complex as soon as homologs synapsed, and most, but not all, RPA disappeared by Stage IV. MLH1 foci appeared between Stage II and IV and remained through Stage VII, the end point of the study. The data suggest that the earliest the mid-pachytene checkpoint can be activated is Epithelial Stage IV, but that activities monitored by the checkpoint may not be completed by this time.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Meiotic recombination proteins localize to linear elements in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

In fission yeast, meiotic prophase nuclei develop structures known as linear elements (LinEs), instead of a canonical synaptonemal complex. LinEs contain Rec10 protein. While Rec10 is essential for meiotic recombination, the precise role of LinEs in this process is unknown. Using in situ immunostaining, we show that Rec7 (which is required for meiosis-specific DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation) aggregates in foci on LinEs. The strand exchange protein Rad51, which is known to mark the sites of DSBs, also localizes to LinEs, although to a lesser degree. The number of Rec7 foci corresponds well with the average number of genetic recombination events per meiosis suggesting that Rec7 marks the sites of recombination. Rec7 and Rad51 foci do not co-localize, presumably because they act sequentially on recombination sites. The localization of Rec7 is dependent on Rec10 but independent of the DSB-inducing protein Rec12/Spo11. Neither Rec7 nor Rad51 localization depends on the LinE-associated proteins Hop1 and Mek1, but the formation of Rad51 foci depends on Rec10, Rec7, and, as expected, Rec12/Spo11. We propose that LinEs form around designated recombination sites before the induction of DSBs and that most, if not all, meiotic recombination initiates within the setting provided by LinEs.

Cell Nucleus Structures↗

PubMed1999

The association of ATR protein with mouse meiotic chromosome cores.

The ATR (ataxia telangiectasia- and RAD3-related) protein is present on meiotic prophase chromosome cores and paired cores (synaptonemal complexes, SCs). Its striking characteristic is that the protein forms dense aggregates on the cores and SCs of the last chromosomes to pair at the zygotene-pachytene transition. It would appear that the ATR protein either signals delays in pairing or it is directly involved in the completion of the pairing phase. Atm-deficient spermatocytes, which are defective in the chromosome pairing phase, accumulate large amounts of ATR. The behaviour of ATR at meiotic prophase sets it apart from the distribution of the RAD51/DMC1 recombinase complex and our electron microscope observations confirm that they do not co-localize. We failed to detect ATM in association with cores/SCs and we have reported elsewhere that RAD1 protein does not co-localize with DMC1 foci. The expectation that putative DNA-damage checkpoint proteins. ATR, ATM and RAD1, are associated with RAD51/DMC1 recombination sites where DNA breaks are expected to be present, is therefore not supported by our observations.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed1999

What makes homologous chromosomes find each other in meiosis? A review and an hypothesis.

The conditions re reviewed that must be met by any model of long distance attraction and transport of homologous chromosomes to the points of intimate DNA synapsis. A proposal for possible mechanisms is presented. It includes transcription and repair factors acting on coding sequences as a preparatory step toward pairing, and the attachment of specific pairing proteins to these sequences. Double-strand break formation is prepared but not immediately completed at the same sites. It is concluded that DNA-DNA interactions cannot bridge the distances between homologous chromosomes in the nucleus, and it is suggested that protein chains are formed between homologous segments. These attach to homologous chains emanating from homologous sequences in other chromosomes, and the chains move along each other until the homologous DNA sequences meet. Then, if required, a synaptonemal complex is formed, and exchange can take place.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Hanging on to your homolog: the roles of pairing, synapsis and recombination in the maintenance of homolog adhesion.

Homologous chromosomes initially undergo weak alignments that bring homologous sequences into register during meiosis. These alignments can be facilitated by two types of mechanisms: interstitial homology searches and telomere-telomere alignments. As prophase (and chromatin compaction) proceeds, these initial pairings or alignments need to be stabilized. In at least some organisms, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and S. pombe, these pairings can apparently be maintained by the creation of recombination intermediates. In contrast, synapsis during zygotene may be able to facilitate and/or maintain chromosome pairing even in the absence of exchange in several higher organisms. It thus seems possible that the synaptonemal complex plays a role both in maintaining homolog adhesion during meiotic prophase and, more speculatively, in facilitating meiotic exchange.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Meiotic sister chromatid cohesion in holocentric sex chromosomes of three heteropteran species is maintained in absence of axial elements.

It has been suggested that in species with monocentric chromosomes axial element (AE) components may be responsible for sister chromatid cohesion during meiosis. To test this hypothesis in species with holocentric chromosomes we selected three heteropteran species with different sex-determining mechanisms. We observed in surface-spreads and sections using transmission electron microscopy that the univalent sex chromosomes form neither AEs nor synaptonemal complexes (SCs) during pachytene. We also found that a polyclonal antibody recognizing SCP3/Cor1, a protein present at AEs and SC lateral elements of rodents, labels the autosomal SCs but not AEs or SC stretches corresponding to the sex chromosomes. Cytological analysis of the segregational behaviour of the sex univalents demonstrates that although these chromosomes segregate equationally during anaphase I they never show precocious separation of sister chromatids during late prophase I or metaphase I. These results suggest that AEs are not responsible for sister cohesion in sex chromosomes. The segregational behaviour of these chromosomes during both meiotic divisions also indicates that different achiasmate modes of chromosome association exist in heteropteran species.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Cloning and characterization of the Kluyveromyces lactis homologs of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RED1 and HOP1 genes.

The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a meiosis-specific proteinaceous structure that holds homologous chromosomes close together along their length during the pachytene stage of meiotic prophase. The SC is observed in sexually reproducing fungi, plants and animals and is highly conserved at the cytological level. Despite this striking conservation of structure, however, the known protein components of the SC do not appear to be highly conserved across species. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the products of the RED1 and HOP1 genes are associated with the lateral elements of the SC. Using a functional complementation strategy, we have isolated homologs of these genes from the related yeast, Kluyveromyces lactis. The predicted K. lactis Red1 protein is 26% identical to the S. cerevisiae Red1 protein, and the K. lactis Hop1 protein is 40% identical to the S. cerevisiae Hop1 protein. The K. lactis RED1 gene fully complements the S. cerevisiae red1 mutant, both when overexpressed and when present in two copies in a diploid. However, the K. lactis HOP1 gene complements a hop1 mutant poorly when overproduced and not at all when present in two copies in a diploid. Unlike the S. cerevisiae RED1 gene, the K. lactis RED1 contains an intron; the transcript of the K. lactis gene is efficiently spliced during meiosis in S. cerevisiae.

Alternative Splicing↗

PubMed2000

Localisation of RAD50 and MRE11 in spermatocyte nuclei of mouse and rat.

Synaptonemal complexes (SCs) are zipperlike structures that are assembled between homologous chromosomes during meiotic prophase. They consist of two axial elements (AEs) (one along each of the two homologous chromosomes), which, in mature SCs, are connected by numerous transverse filaments along their length. Several proteins involved in the later steps of meiotic recombination most probably function in close association with the AEs of SCs, because the proteins involved in these steps have all been localised along AEs or SCs by immunocytochemical methods. It is not known at which step in meiotic recombination this association with the AEs is established. In order to shed some light on this issue, we analysed the localisation of two proteins that are involved in early steps of meiotic recombination, RAD50 and MRE11, relative to AEs and SCs by immunofluorescence labelling of paraffin sections of the mouse testis, using affinity-purified polyclonal antibodies against RAD50 and MRE11, and monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against SC components. The localisation patterns of MRE11 and RAD50 within spermatocytes were very similar. MRE11 and RAD50 appeared in high abundance in preleptotene spermatocytes, just before SC components could be detected. From preleptotene until early zygotene they were present throughout the nucleus. In mid and late zygotene, MRE11 and RAD50 concentrated in distinct areas; in early pachytene the two proteins had almost disappeared from the nucleus, except from the sex vesicle (the chromatin of the XY bivalent), where they persisted in high abundance until diplotene. We propose that MRE11 and RAD50, together with other proteins, prepare chromatin throughout the early meiotic prophase nucleus for the initiation of meiotic recombination. Possibly, only a small fraction of the RAD50- and MRE11-containing (pre)recombination complexes associates transiently with AEs, where further steps in meiotic recombination can take place.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Spermatogenic failure in male mice with four sex chromosomes.

There is accumulating evidence that meiosis, like mitosis, is monitored by a number of checkpoints. In mammals, the presence of asynapsed chromosomes at pachytene triggers a checkpoint (the pachytene or synapsis checkpoint) that removes cells via a p53-independent apoptotic pathway. In the special case of the sex bivalent in males, it is pseudoautosomal region (PAR) asynapsis that triggers the checkpoint. In male mice with three sex chromosomes (XYY or XYY(*X)) some pachytene spermatocytes achieve full (trivalent) PAR synapsis, but in many cells one sex chromosome remains as a univalent, thus triggering the checkpoint. Sperm counts in these males have been shown to be positively correlated with trivalent frequencies. In the present study sperm production and levels of sex chromosome synapsis were studied in mice with four sex chromosomes (XYYY(*X)) and XYY(*X)Y(*X)). These mice proved to be more severely affected than XYY or XYY(*X) mice. Nevertheless, pachytene synaptonemal complex analysis revealed that full PAR synapsis was achieved through the formation of radial quadrivalents or through the formation of two sex bivalents in 21%-49% of cells analysed. Given these levels of full PAR synapsis, the sperm counts were consistently lower than would have been predicted from the relationship between levels of PAR synapsis and sperm counts in mice with three sex chromosomes. It has been suggested that the inactivation of the asynapsed non-PAR X and Y axes of the XY bivalent of normal males (MSCI), which occurs during meiotic prophase, may be driven by Xist transcripts originating from the X. If this is the case, the non-PAR Y axes of YY and YY(*X) bivalents would fail to undergo MSCI. This could be cell lethal, either because of 'inappropriate' Y gene expression, or because the non-PAR Y axis may now trigger the synapsis checkpoint.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Interaction of DNA polymerase beta with GRIP1 during meiosis.

DNA polymerase beta (pol beta) is an essential enzyme that has been shown to localize as discrete foci to the synaptonemal complex during meiosis in the mouse. To identify proteins that associate with pol beta during meiosis, we employed the yeast two-hybrid screen. Here we show that a multiple PDZ domain-containing protein, the glutamate receptor interacting protein 1 (GRIP1), interacts specifically with pol beta. The PDZ domain-containing proteins, including GRIP1, act as scaffolds to promote rapid and localized biochemical events that require the interaction of multiple proteins. GRIP1 localizes to discrete foci on meiotic bivalents of both spermatocyte and oocyte nuclei, and colocalizes with pol beta. Together, these findings provide evidence that GRIP1 interacts with pol beta during meiosis. Our findings are consistent with the possibility that GRIP1 acts as a scaffold to promote interaction between proteins that function during meiosis.

Animals↗