1 research outputs found
Homologue recognition during meiosis is associated with a change in chromatin conformation
Brief Communication. 3 pages; 2 figures.During meiosis, homologous chromosomes are sorted into pairs
and are then intimately aligned, or synapsed, along their lengths
while a proteinaceous structure, the synaptonemal complex, is
assembled between them. However, little is known about how
chromosomes first recognise each other1. Here we show, by
comparing the behaviour of wild-type wheat and wheat mutant
for Ph1 (a suppressor of homologous chromosome pairing), that
when chromosomes recognise a partner to pair with, a
conformational change to the chromatin is triggered in both
partners that is followed by their intimate alignment. Thus, a
conformational change in the chromosomes at the onset of
meiosis can be correlated directly with recognition.Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council of the UKPeer reviewe