Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Recombination and hydroxyurea inhibition of DNA synthesis in yeast meiosis

  • Published:
Molecular and General Genetics MGG Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

Hydroxyurea (HU) inhibits the premeiotic DNA replication and the meiotic events that follow, namely readiness, recombination commitment, haploidisation, sporulation commitment and ascus formation. Short incubations with HU (2–4 hrs) during the premeiotic replication (i.e. starting between 3 and 6.5 hrs in sporulation medium) allow the resumption of the replication at a normal rate following the removal of the drug. The other meiotic events are similarly delayed by the approximate length of the treatment. In these experiments, intragenic recombination in ade2 reached a higher level than in the controls (x1.3–2.0 in one pair of heteroalleles and x3.0–4.0 in another pair). The recombination response to short HU treatments was not observed for a pair of heteroalleles in ade2 that normally shows a high level of meiotic recombination (750 per 106 cells), nor was the response observed in a pair of heteroalleles in lys2. HU treatments have almost no effect on sporulating cells from 8 hrs onwards. At 7–7.5 hrs the meiotic cells are very sensitive to the drug and even short treatments cause cell death and massive DNA degradation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Cameron, I.L., Jeter, J.R.: Action of hydroxyurea and N-carbamoyloxyurea on the cell cycle of Tetrahymena. Cell Tiss. Kinet. 6, 289–301 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Elford, H.L.: Effect of hydroxyurea on ribonucleotide reductase. Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun. 33, 129–135 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Esposito, R.E., Exposito, M.S.: Genetic recombination and commitment to meiosis in Saccharomyces. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. (Wash.) 71, 3172–3176 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartwell, H.L.: Genetic control of the cell division cycle in yeast. II. Genes controlling DNA replication and its initiation. J. molec. Biol. 59, 183–194 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Holliday, R.: Genetic recombination in fungi. In: Replication and recombination of genetic material, eds. Peacock, W.J. and Brock, R.D., p. 157–174, Canberra; Australian Academy of Sciences, 1968

    Google Scholar 

  • Hotta, Y., Stern, H.: Analysis of DNA synthesis during meiotic prophase in Lilium. J. molec. Biol. 55, 337–355 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, S.J., Rosenkranz, H.S.: Detection of a reactive intermediate in the reaction between DNA and hydroxyurea. Cancer Res. 30, 1084–1094 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krakoff, I.H., Brown, N.C., Reichard, P.: Inhibition of ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase by hydroxyurea. Cancer Res. 28, 1559–1565 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Roth, R., Fogel, S.: A system selective for yeast mutants deficient in meiotic recombinaiton. Molec. gen. Genet. 112, 295–305 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Salts, Y.: Meiosis and sporulation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ph.D. thesis. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1974

  • Sherman, F., Roman, H.L.: Evidence for two types of allelic recombination in yeast. Genetics 48, 255–261 (1963)

    Google Scholar 

  • Silva-Lopez, E., Zamb, T.J., Roth, R.: Role of premeiotic replication in gene conversion. Nature (Lond.) 253, 212–214 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Simchen, G.: Are mitotic functions required in meiosis? Genetics 76, 745–753 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Simchen, G., Hirschberg, J.: Effects of the mitotic cell cycle mutation cdc4 on yeast meiosis. Submitted for publication

  • Simchen, G., Piñon, R., Salts, Y.: Sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: premeiotic DNA synthesis, readiness and commitment. Exp. Cell Res. 75, 207–218 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Simchen, G., Salts, Y., Piñon, R.: Sensitivity of meiotic yeast cells to ultraviolet light. Genetics 73, 531–541 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Simchen, G., Stamberg, J.: Fine and coarse controls of genetic recombination. Nature (Lond.) 222, 329–332 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Slater, M.L.: Effect of reversible inhibition of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis on the yeast cell cycle. J. Bact. 113, 263–270 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, H., Westergaard, M., Von Wattstein, D.: Presynaptic events in meiocytes of Lilium longiflorum and their relation to crossingover: a preselection hypothesis. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. (Wash.) 72, 961–965 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehouse, H.L.K.: An operator model for crossing-over. Nature (Lond.) 211, 708–713 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    Giora Simchen, Dalia Idar & Yona Kassir

Authors
  1. Giora Simchen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dalia Idar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yona Kassir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Communicated by F. Kaudewitz

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Simchen, G., Idar, D. & Kassir, Y. Recombination and hydroxyurea inhibition of DNA synthesis in yeast meiosis. Molec. Gen. Genet. 144, 21–27 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00277299

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00277299

Keywords

Search

Navigation