Critical role of Caenorhabditis elegans homologs of Cds1 (Chk2)-related kinases in meiotic recombination.
Although chromosomal segregation at meiosis I is the critical process for genetic reassortment and inheritance, little is known about molecules involved in this process in metazoa. Here we show by utilizing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated genetic interference that novel protein kinases (Ce-CDS-1 and Ce-CDS-2) related to Cds1 (Chk2) play an essential role in meiotic recombination in Caenorhabditis elegans. Injection of dsRNA into adult animals resulted in the inhibition of meiotic crossing over and induced the loss of chiasmata at diakinesis in oocytes of F(1) animals. However, electron microscopic analysis revealed that synaptonemal complex formation in pachytene nuclei of the same progeny of injected animals appeared to be normal. Thus, Ce-CDS-1 and Ce-CDS-2 are the first example of Cds1-related kinases that are required for meiotic recombination in multicellular organisms.
Oishi
I
I
Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Kobe University, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Japan.
Iwai
K
K
Kagohashi
Y
Y
Fujimoto
H
H
Kariya
K
K
Kataoka
T
T
Sawa
H
H
Okano
H
H
Otani
H
H
Yamamura
H
H
Minami
Y
Y
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000782:Aneuploidy; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D064447:Checkpoint Kinase 2; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D008297:Male; D008540:Meiosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000235:genetics; D018510:RNA, Helminth / Q000235:genetics; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D017931:DNA Primers; D018509:DNA, Helminth; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded; D018510:RNA, Helminth; D011494:Protein Kinases; D064447:Checkpoint Kinase 2; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases