Recombinational DNA double-strand breaks in mice precede synapsis.
In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, meiotic recombination is initiated by Spo11-dependent double-strand breaks (DSBs), a process that precedes homologous synapsis. Here we use an antibody specific for a phosphorylated histone (gamma-H2AX, which marks the sites of DSBs) to investigate the timing, distribution and Spo11-dependence of meiotic DSBs in the mouse. We show that, as in yeast, recombination in the mouse is initiated by Spo11-dependent DSBs that form during leptotene. Loss of gamma-H2AX staining (which in irradiated somatic cells is temporally linked with DSB repair) is temporally and spatially correlated with synapsis, even when this synapsis is 'non-homologous'.
Division of Developmental Genetics, National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK.
S K
SK
Mahadevaiah
J M
JM
Turner
F
F
Baudat
E P
EP
Rogakou
P
P
de Boer
J
J
Blanco-Rodríguez
M
M
Jasin
S
S
Keeney
W M
WM
Bonner
P S
PS
Burgoyne
D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004706:Endodeoxyribonucleases; D004950:Esterases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006657:Histones / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D019426:Integrases; D008297:Male; D008540:Meiosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045522:Recombinases; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000099257:Meiotic Recombination Protein SPO11
D000906:Antibodies; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004247:DNA; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004706:Endodeoxyribonucleases; D004950:Esterases; D006657:Histones; D019426:Integrases; D011506:Proteins; D045522:Recombinases; D000099257:Meiotic Recombination Protein SPO11; C512847:Msh5 protein, mouse; C115006:integron integrase IntI1