title: Vilya, a component of the recombination nodule, is required for meiotic double-strand break formation in Drosophila.
abstract: Meiotic recombination begins with the induction of programmed double-strand breaks (DSBs). In most organisms only a fraction of DSBs become crossovers. Here we report a novel meiotic gene, vilya, which encodes a protein with homology to Zip3-like proteins shown to determine DSB fate in other organisms. Vilya is required for meiotic DSB formation, perhaps as a consequence of its interaction with the DSB accessory protein Mei-P22, and localizes to those DSB sites that will mature into crossovers. In early pachytene Vilya localizes along the central region of the synaptonemal complex and to discrete foci. The accumulation of Vilya at foci is dependent on DSB formation. Immuno-electron microscopy demonstrates that Vilya is a component of recombination nodules, which mark the sites of crossover formation. Thus Vilya links the mechanism of DSB formation to either the selection of those DSBs that will become crossovers or to the actual process of crossing over.
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, United States.
authors.forename: Cathleen M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lake
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, United States.
authors.forename: Rachel J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, United States.
authors.forename: Fengli
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, United States.
authors.forename: Jay R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Unruh
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, United States.
authors.forename: Brian D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Slaughter
authors.affiliation: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, United States.|Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, United States.
authors.forename: R Scott
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Hawley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000378:metabolism; D003434:Crossing Over, Genetic; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008540:Meiosis; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D011485:Protein Binding
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C517206:Mei-P22 protein, Drosophila
keywords: D. melanogaster; cell biology; chromosomes; double-strand break; genes; meiosis; recombination; recombination nodule; synaptonemal complex