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Genetic and cytological characterization of the recombination protein RAD-51 in Caenorhabditis elegans

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Abstract

We investigated the role of Caenorhabditis elegans rad-51 during meiotic prophase. We showed that rad-51 mutant worms are viable, have no defects in meiotic homology recognition and synapsis but exhibit abnormal chromosomal morphology and univalent formation at diakinesis. During meiosis RAD-51 becomes localized to distinct foci in nuclei of the transition zone of the gonad and is most abundant in nuclei at late zygotene/early pachytene. Foci then gradually disappear from chromosomes and no foci are observed in late pachytene. RAD-51 localization requires the recombination genes spo-11 and mre-11 as well as chk-2, which is necessary for homology recognition and presynaptic alignment. Mutational analysis with synapsis- and recombination-defective strains, as well as the analysis of strains bearing heterozygous translocation chromosomes, suggests that presynaptic alignment may be required for RAD-51 focus formation, whereas homologous synaptonemal complex formation is required to remove RAD-51 foci.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Elegene, in particular to Anke Fenn for the generation of the rad-51 deletion, and to Björn Schumacher for generating backcrossed rad51 strains. We thank Anne Villeneuve for the spo-11, mre-11 and msh-5 strains. Anton Gartner acknowledges generous support from the Max Planck Society (Erich Nigg). This work was supported by grants DFG 701-1/1 and 701-2/1 from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and by grants P14642 and S8211 from the Austrian Science Fund.

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  1. Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18a, 82152 Martinsried, Germany

    Arno Alpi & Anton Gartner

  2. Institute of Botany, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria

    Pawel Pasierbek & Josef Loidl

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  1. Arno Alpi
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  2. Pawel Pasierbek
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Correspondence to Josef Loidl.

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Edited by: D. Schweizer

Arno Alpi and Pawel Pasierbek contributed equally to this work

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Alpi, A., Pasierbek, P., Gartner, A. et al. Genetic and cytological characterization of the recombination protein RAD-51 in Caenorhabditis elegans . Chromosoma 112, 6–16 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-003-0237-5

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