title: Polo-like kinase-dependent phosphorylation of the synaptonemal complex protein SYP-4 regulates double-strand break formation through a negative feedback loop.
abstract: The synaptonemal complex (SC) is an ultrastructurally conserved proteinaceous structure that holds homologous chromosomes together and is required for the stabilization of pairing interactions and the completion of crossover (CO) formation between homologs during meiosis I. Here, we identify a novel role for a central region component of the SC, SYP-4, in negatively regulating formation of recombination-initiating double-strand breaks (DSBs) via a feedback loop triggered by crossover designation inC. elegans. We found that SYP-4 is phosphorylated dependent on Polo-like kinases PLK-1/2. SYP-4 phosphorylation depends on DSB formation and crossover designation, is required for stabilizing the SC in pachytene by switching the central region of the SC from a more dynamic to a less dynamic state, and negatively regulates DSB formation. We propose a model in which Polo-like kinases recognize crossover designation and phosphorylate SYP-4 thereby stabilizing the SC and making chromosomes less permissive for further DSB formation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States.
authors.forename: Saravanapriah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nadarajan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States.
authors.forename: Talley J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Altendorfer
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States.
authors.forename: Jinmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States.|Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Blower
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States.
authors.forename: Jennifer C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States.
authors.forename: Monica P
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7803-4372
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Colaiácovo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D025461:Feedback, Physiological; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000097869:Polo-Like Kinase 1; D000097868:Polo-like Kinases
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C569963:SYP-4 protein, C elegans; C513017:plk-1 protein, C elegans; D000097869:Polo-Like Kinase 1; C569597:polo-like kinase 2, C elegans; D000097868:Polo-like Kinases
keywords: C. elegans; Polo-like kinase; SYP-4; cell biology; chromosomes; double-strand breaks; genes; meiosis; synaptonemal complex