The Arabidopsis thaliana DSB formation (AtDFO) gene is required for meiotic double-strand break formation.
DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation is the initial event for meiotic recombination catalyzed by the conserved Spo11 protein. In Arabidopsis, several proteins have been reported to be involved in DSB formation. Here, we report an Arabidopsis DSB forming (DFO) gene in Arabidopsis that is involved in DSB formation. The dfo mutant exhibits reduced fertility, producing polyads with an abnormal number of microspores, unlike the tetrads in the wild type. The dfo meiocytes were defective in homologous chromosome synapsis and segregation. Genetic analysis revealed that the homologous recombination of Atdfo-1 is severely affected in meiotic prophase I. DFO encodes a protein without any known conserved domain. There was no homologue identified outside the plant kingdom, indicating that AtDFO is a plant-specific protein. AtMRE11 has been reported to be responsible for processing SPO11-generated DSBs. The Atmre11 mutant displays chromosome fragmentation during meiosis. However, the Atdfo Atmre11 double mutant had no such chromosome fragmentation, indicating that AtDFO is required for DSB formation.
Department of Biology, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhong Shan Road, Shanghai 200062, China.
Cheng
C
Zhang
Yao
Y
Song
Zhi-hao
ZH
Cheng
Ying-xiang
YX
Wang
Jun
J
Zhu
Hong
H
Ma
Ling
L
Xu
Zhong-Nan
ZN
Yang
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D023902:Chromosome Pairing / Q000235:genetics*; D020090:Chromosome Segregation; D032461:Chromosomes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D035264:Flowers / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D015870:Gene Expression; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D000076228:MRE11 Homologue Protein; D008540:Meiosis; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D010641:Phenotype; D051479:Plant Infertility / Q000235:genetics; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C583230:DFO protein, Arabidopsis; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C492900:Mre11 protein, Arabidopsis; D000076228:MRE11 Homologue Protein