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Biology of Reproduction Jul 2018Meiosis is the chromosomal foundation of reproduction, with errors in this important process leading to aneuploidy and/or infertility. In this review celebrating the... (Review)
Review
Meiosis is the chromosomal foundation of reproduction, with errors in this important process leading to aneuploidy and/or infertility. In this review celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Society for the Study of Reproduction, the important chromosomal structures and dynamics contributing to genomic integrity across generations are highlighted. Critical unsolved biological problems are identified, and the advances that will lead to their ultimate resolution are predicted.
Topics: Animals; Chromosomes; Female; Fertility; Humans; Male; Meiosis; Reproduction
PubMed: 29385397
DOI: 10.1093/biolre/ioy021 -
Annual Review of Plant Biology 2015Meiosis is the cell division that reshuffles genetic information between generations. Recently, much progress has been made in understanding this process; in particular,... (Review)
Review
Meiosis is the cell division that reshuffles genetic information between generations. Recently, much progress has been made in understanding this process; in particular, the identification and functional analysis of more than 80 plant genes involved in meiosis have dramatically deepened our knowledge of this peculiar cell division. In this review, we provide an overview of advancements in the understanding of all aspects of plant meiosis, including recombination, chromosome synapsis, cell cycle control, chromosome distribution, and the challenge of polyploidy.
Topics: Cell Cycle; Chromosome Pairing; Chromosomes, Plant; Genes, Plant; Meiosis; Plants; Polyploidy; Recombination, Genetic
PubMed: 25494464
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-050213-035923 -
Genes & Development Jan 2022During meiosis, a molecular program induces DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and their repair by homologous recombination. DSBs can be repaired with or without... (Review)
Review
During meiosis, a molecular program induces DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and their repair by homologous recombination. DSBs can be repaired with or without crossovers. ZMM proteins promote the repair toward crossover. The sites of DSB repair are also sites where the axes of homologous chromosomes are juxtaposed and stabilized, and where a structure called the synaptonemal complex initiates, providing further regulation of both DSB formation and repair. How crossover formation and synapsis initiation are linked has remained unknown. The study by Pyatnitskaya and colleagues (pp. 53-69) in this issue of highlights the central role of the ZMM protein Zip4 in this process.
Topics: Chromosome Pairing; Crossing Over, Genetic; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; DNA Repair; Meiosis; Synaptonemal Complex
PubMed: 35022326
DOI: 10.1101/gad.349286.121 -
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in... May 2015Recombination is a prominent feature of meiosis in which it plays an important role in increasing genetic diversity during inheritance. Additionally, in most organisms,... (Review)
Review
Recombination is a prominent feature of meiosis in which it plays an important role in increasing genetic diversity during inheritance. Additionally, in most organisms, recombination also plays mechanical roles in chromosomal processes, most notably to mediate pairing of homologous chromosomes during prophase and, ultimately, to ensure regular segregation of homologous chromosomes when they separate at the first meiotic division. Recombinational interactions are also subject to important spatial patterning at both early and late stages. Recombination-mediated processes occur in physical and functional linkage with meiotic axial chromosome structure, with interplay in both directions, before, during, and after formation and dissolution of the synaptonemal complex (SC), a highly conserved meiosis-specific structure that links homolog axes along their lengths. These diverse processes also are integrated with recombination-independent interactions between homologous chromosomes, nonhomology-based chromosome couplings/clusterings, and diverse types of chromosome movement. This review provides an overview of these diverse processes and their interrelationships.
Topics: Animals; Chromosome Pairing; Chromosomes; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; Humans; Meiosis; Recombination, Genetic; Synaptonemal Complex
PubMed: 25986558
DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a016626 -
BioEssays : News and Reviews in... Apr 2019Diploid germ cells produce haploid gametes through meiosis, a unique type of cell division. Independent reassortment of parental chromosomes and their recombination... (Review)
Review
Diploid germ cells produce haploid gametes through meiosis, a unique type of cell division. Independent reassortment of parental chromosomes and their recombination leads to ample genetic variability among the gametes. Importantly, new mutations also occur during meiosis, at frequencies much higher than during the mitotic cell cycles. These meiotic mutations are associated with genetic recombination and depend on double-strand breaks (DSBs) that initiate crossing over. Indeed, sequence variation among related strains is greater around recombination hotspots than elsewhere in the genome, presumably resulting from recombination-associated mutations. Significantly, enhanced mutagenicity in meiosis may lead to faster divergence during evolution, as germ-line mutations are the ones that are transmitted to the progeny and thus have an evolutionary impact. The molecular basis for mutagenicity in meiosis may be related to the repair of meiotic DSBs by polymerases, or to the exposure of single-strand DNA to mutagenic agents during its repair.
Topics: Biological Evolution; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; Genetic Variation; Meiosis; Mutagenesis; Recombination, Genetic
PubMed: 30920000
DOI: 10.1002/bies.201800235 -
Asian Journal of Andrology 2021
Topics: Humans; Meiosis; Mitosis
PubMed: 34708720
DOI: 10.4103/aja202192 -
Cell Sep 2001Sexual reproduction predominates among eukaryotic organisms on our planet. While debate continues over why this should be so, burgeoning genomic and functional... (Review)
Review
Sexual reproduction predominates among eukaryotic organisms on our planet. While debate continues over why this should be so, burgeoning genomic and functional information now allows us to begin to think reasonably about some of the events that may have occurred to make sex possible in the first place.
Topics: Animals; Crossing Over, Genetic; Female; Male; Mammals; Meiosis; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Recombination, Genetic; Reproduction
PubMed: 11572770
DOI: 10.1016/s0092-8674(01)00500-1 -
Nucleus (Austin, Tex.) Dec 2024Heterochromatin is an organizational property of eukaryotic chromosomes, characterized by extensive DNA and histone modifications, that is associated with the silencing... (Review)
Review
Heterochromatin is an organizational property of eukaryotic chromosomes, characterized by extensive DNA and histone modifications, that is associated with the silencing of transposable elements and repetitive sequences. Maintaining heterochromatin is crucial for ensuring genomic integrity and stability during the cell cycle. During meiosis, heterochromatin is important for homologous chromosome synapsis, recombination, and segregation, but our understanding of meiotic heterochromatin formation and condensation is limited. In this review, we focus on the dynamics and features of heterochromatin and how it condenses during meiosis in plants. We also discuss how meiotic heterochromatin influences the interaction and recombination of homologous chromosomes during prophase I.
Topics: Heterochromatin; Centromere; Meiosis; Chromosome Pairing
PubMed: 38488152
DOI: 10.1080/19491034.2024.2328719 -
Nucleic Acids Research Oct 2022Post-transcriptional RNA modifications critically regulate various biological processes. N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) is an epi-transcriptome, which is highly conserved in...
Post-transcriptional RNA modifications critically regulate various biological processes. N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) is an epi-transcriptome, which is highly conserved in all species. However, the in vivo physiological functions and regulatory mechanisms of ac4C remain poorly understood, particularly in mammals. In this study, we demonstrate that the only known ac4C writer, N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10), plays an essential role in male reproduction. We identified the occurrence of ac4C in the mRNAs of mouse tissues and showed that ac4C undergoes dynamic changes during spermatogenesis. Germ cell-specific ablation of Nat10 severely inhibits meiotic entry and leads to defects in homologous chromosome synapsis, meiotic recombination and repair of DNA double-strand breaks during meiosis. Transcriptomic profiling revealed dysregulation of functional genes in meiotic prophase I after Nat10 deletion. These findings highlight the crucial physiological functions of ac4C modifications in male spermatogenesis and expand our understanding of its role in the regulation of specific physiological processes in vivo.
Topics: Male; Mice; Animals; Meiosis; Cytidine; Chromosome Pairing; Germ Cells; Mammals
PubMed: 35801907
DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac594 -
Current Opinion in Genetics &... Dec 2022Sterile hybrids are broadly considered evolutionary dead-ends because of their faulty sexual reproduction. While sterility in obligate sexual organisms is a clear... (Review)
Review
Sterile hybrids are broadly considered evolutionary dead-ends because of their faulty sexual reproduction. While sterility in obligate sexual organisms is a clear constraint in perpetuating the species, some facultative sexual microbes such as yeasts can propagate asexually and maintain genome plasticity. Moreover, incomplete meiotic pathways in yeasts represent alternative routes to the standard meiosis that generates genetic combinations in the population and fuel adaptation. Here, we review how aborting meiosis promotes genome-wide allele shuffling in sterile Saccharomyces hybrids and describe approaches to identify evolved clones in a cell population. We further discuss possible implications of this process in generating phenotypic novelty and report cases of abortive meiosis across yeast species.
Topics: Hybridization, Genetic; Meiosis; Saccharomyces; Genome, Fungal
PubMed: 36084497
DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2022.101980