A conserved checkpoint monitors meiotic chromosome synapsis in Caenorhabditis elegans.
We report the discovery of a checkpoint that monitors synapsis between homologous chromosomes to ensure accurate meiotic segregation. Oocytes containing unsynapsed chromosomes selectively undergo apoptosis even if a germline DNA damage checkpoint is inactivated. This culling mechanism is specifically activated by unsynapsed pairing centers, cis-acting chromosome sites that are also required to promote synapsis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Apoptosis due to synaptic failure also requires the C. elegans homolog of PCH2, a budding yeast pachytene checkpoint gene, which suggests that this surveillance mechanism is widely conserved.
Bhalla
Needhi
N
Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Dernburg
Abby F
AF
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D023902:Chromosome Pairing / Q000502:physiology*; D020090:Chromosome Segregation; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development; D005260:Female; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D008297:Male; D008540:Meiosis; D009154:Mutation; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D019076:Transgenes; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins