title: Single-molecule observation of DNA compaction by meiotic protein SYCP3.
abstract: In a previous paper (Syrjänen et al., 2014), we reported the first structural characterisation of a synaptonemal complex (SC) protein, SYCP3, which led us to propose a model for its role in chromosome compaction during meiosis. As a component of the SC lateral element, SYCP3 has a critical role in defining the specific chromosome architecture required for correct meiotic progression. In the model, the reported compaction of chromosomal DNA caused by SYCP3 would result from its ability to bridge distant sites on a DNA molecule with the DNA-binding domains located at each end of its strut-like structure. Here, we describe a single-molecule assay based on optical tweezers, fluorescence microscopy and microfluidics that, in combination with bulk biochemical data, provides direct visual evidence for our proposed mechanism of SYCP3-mediated chromosome organisation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Johanna L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Syrjänen
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|LaserLaB, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Iddo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Heller
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|LaserLaB, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Candelli
authors.affiliation: Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Owen R
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3806-5403
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|LaserLaB, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Erwin J G
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Peterman
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|LaserLaB, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gijs J L
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Wuite
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9300-497X
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pellegrini
mesh_terms: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D044085:Microfluidics; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D000072760:Single Molecule Imaging
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C490060:SYCP3 protein, human; D004247:DNA
keywords: Meiosis; Protein-DNA interactions; SYCP3; Single-molecule; Synaptonemal complex; biophysics; chromosomes; genes; human; structural biology