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The synaptonemal complex has liquid crystalline properties and spatially regulates meiotic recombination factors

The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a polymer that spans ~100 nm between paired homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Its striated, periodic appearance in electron micrographs led to the idea that transverse filaments within this structure ‘crosslink’ the axes of homologous chromosomes, stabilizing th...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Rog, Ofer, Köhler, Simone, Dernburg, Abby F
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5268736/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28045371
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.21455
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author Rog, Ofer
Köhler, Simone
Dernburg, Abby F
author_facet Rog, Ofer
Köhler, Simone
Dernburg, Abby F
author_sort Rog, Ofer
collection PubMed
description The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a polymer that spans ~100 nm between paired homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Its striated, periodic appearance in electron micrographs led to the idea that transverse filaments within this structure ‘crosslink’ the axes of homologous chromosomes, stabilizing their pairing. SC proteins can also form polycomplexes, three-dimensional lattices that recapitulate the periodic structure of SCs but do not associate with chromosomes. Here we provide evidence that SCs and polycomplexes contain mobile subunits and that their assembly is promoted by weak hydrophobic interactions, indicative of a liquid crystalline phase. We further show that in the absence of recombination intermediates, polycomplexes recapitulate the dynamic localization of pro-crossover factors during meiotic progression, revealing how the SC might act as a conduit to regulate chromosome-wide crossover distribution. Properties unique to liquid crystals likely enable long-range signal transduction along meiotic chromosomes and underlie the rapid evolution of SC proteins. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.21455.001
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spelling pubmed-52687362017-01-30 The synaptonemal complex has liquid crystalline properties and spatially regulates meiotic recombination factors Rog, Ofer Köhler, Simone Dernburg, Abby F eLife Cell Biology The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a polymer that spans ~100 nm between paired homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Its striated, periodic appearance in electron micrographs led to the idea that transverse filaments within this structure ‘crosslink’ the axes of homologous chromosomes, stabilizing their pairing. SC proteins can also form polycomplexes, three-dimensional lattices that recapitulate the periodic structure of SCs but do not associate with chromosomes. Here we provide evidence that SCs and polycomplexes contain mobile subunits and that their assembly is promoted by weak hydrophobic interactions, indicative of a liquid crystalline phase. We further show that in the absence of recombination intermediates, polycomplexes recapitulate the dynamic localization of pro-crossover factors during meiotic progression, revealing how the SC might act as a conduit to regulate chromosome-wide crossover distribution. Properties unique to liquid crystals likely enable long-range signal transduction along meiotic chromosomes and underlie the rapid evolution of SC proteins. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.21455.001 eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd 2017-01-03 /pmc/articles/PMC5268736/ /pubmed/28045371 http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.21455 Text en © 2017, Rog et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Cell Biology
Rog, Ofer
Köhler, Simone
Dernburg, Abby F
The synaptonemal complex has liquid crystalline properties and spatially regulates meiotic recombination factors
title The synaptonemal complex has liquid crystalline properties and spatially regulates meiotic recombination factors
title_full The synaptonemal complex has liquid crystalline properties and spatially regulates meiotic recombination factors
title_fullStr The synaptonemal complex has liquid crystalline properties and spatially regulates meiotic recombination factors
title_full_unstemmed The synaptonemal complex has liquid crystalline properties and spatially regulates meiotic recombination factors
title_short The synaptonemal complex has liquid crystalline properties and spatially regulates meiotic recombination factors
title_sort synaptonemal complex has liquid crystalline properties and spatially regulates meiotic recombination factors
topic Cell Biology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5268736/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28045371
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.21455
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