title: Meiotic recombination and the crossover assurance checkpoint in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: During meiotic prophase, chromosomes pair and synapse with their homologs and undergo programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation to initiate meiotic recombination. These DSBs are processed to generate a limited number of crossover recombination products on each chromosome, which are essential to ensure faithful segregation of homologous chromosomes. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has served as an excellent model organism to investigate the mechanisms that drive and coordinate these chromosome dynamics during meiosis. Here we focus on our current understanding of the regulation of DSB induction in C. elegans. We also review evidence that feedback regulation of crossover formation prolongs the early stages of meiotic prophase, and discuss evidence that this can alter the recombination pattern, most likely by shifting the genome-wide distribution of DSBs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3220, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Zhouliang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3220, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3220, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: afdernburg@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Abby F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Dernburg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D059447:Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000235:genetics*; D003434:Crossing Over, Genetic; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D008540:Meiosis / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
keywords: Cell cycle; Chromatin; Chromosome structure; Double-strand breaks; Feedback control; Meiosis; Recombination