Structural damage to meiotic chromosomes impairs DNA recombination and checkpoint control in mammalian oocytes

Meiosis in human oocytes is a highly error-prone process with profound effects on germ cell and embryo development. The synaptonemal complex protein 3 (SYCP3) transiently supports the structural organization of the meiotic chromosome axis. Offspring derived from murine Sycp3 (−) (/) (−) females die in utero as a result of aneuploidy. We studied the nature of the proximal chromosomal defects that give rise to aneuploidy in Sycp3 (−) (/) (−) oocytes and how these errors evade meiotic quality control mechanisms. We show that DNA double-stranded breaks are inefficiently repaired in Sycp3 (−) (/) (−) oocytes, thereby generating a temporal spectrum of recombination errors. This is indicated by a strong residual γH2AX labeling retained at late meiotic stages in mutant oocytes and an increased persistence of recombination-related proteins associated with meiotic chromosomes. Although a majority of the mutant oocytes are rapidly eliminated at early postnatal development, a subset with a small number of unfinished crossovers evades the DNA damage checkpoint, resulting in the formation of aneuploid gametes.