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DNA double‐strand breaks, recombination and synapsis: the timing of meiosis differs in grasshoppers and flies
Author(s) -
Viera Alberto,
Santos Juan L,
Page Jesús,
Parra M Teresa,
Calvente Adela,
Cifuentes Marta,
Gómez Rocío,
Lira Renee,
Suja José A,
Rufas Julio S
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.1038/sj.embor.7400112
Subject(s) - synapsis , biology , synaptonemal complex , meiosis , homologous recombination , genetics , rad51 , rad50 , histone , microbiology and biotechnology , dna repair , mitotic crossover , centromere , dna , chromosome , gene , dna binding protein , transcription factor
The temporal and functional relationships between DNA events of meiotic recombination and synaptonemal complex formation are a matter of discussion within the meiotic field. To analyse this subject in grasshoppers, organisms that have been considered as models for meiotic studies for many years, we have studied the localization of phosphorylated histone H2AX (γ‐H2AX), which marks the sites of double‐strand breaks (DSBs), in combination with localization of cohesin SMC3 and recombinase Rad51. We show that the loss of γ‐H2AX staining is spatially and temporally linked to synapsis, and that in grasshoppers the initiation of recombination, produced as a consequence of DSB formation, precedes synapsis. This result supports the idea that grasshoppers display a pairing pathway that is not present in other insects such as Drosophila melanogaster , but is similar to those reported in yeast, mouse and Arabidopsis . In addition, we have observed the presence of γ‐H2AX in the X chromosome from zygotene to late pachytene, indicating that the function of H2AX phosphorylation during grasshopper spermatogenesis is not restricted to the formation of γ‐H2AX foci at DNA DSBs.