ZmASY1 interacts with ZmPRD3 and is crucial for meiotic double-strand break formation in maize.

Yan Wang, Shu-Yue Li, Ya-Zhong Wang, Yan He

The New phytologist 2023 Jan

filter terms:

During meiosis, recombination-mediated pairing and synapsis of homologous chromosomes begin with programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). In yeast and mice, DSBs form in a tethered loop-axis complex, in which DSB sites are located within chromatin loops and tethered to the proteinaceous axial element (AE) by DSB-forming factors. In plants, the molecular connection between DSB sites and chromosome axes is poorly understood. By integrating genetic analysis, immunostaining technology, and protein-protein interaction studies, the putative factors linking DSB formation to chromosome axis were explored in maize meiosis. Here, we report that the AE protein ZmASY1 directly interacts with the DSB-forming protein ZmPRD3 in maize (Zea mays) and mediates DSB formation, synaptonemal complex assembly, and homologous recombination. ZmPRD3 also interacts with ZmPRD1, which plays a central role in organizing the DSB-forming complex. These results suggest that ZmASY1 and ZmPRD3 may work as a key module linking DSB sites to chromosome axes during DSB formation in maize. This mechanism is similar to that described in yeast and recently Arabidopsis involving the homologs Mer2/ZmPRD3 and HOP1/ZmASY1, thus indicating that the process of tethering DSBs in chromatin loops to the chromosome axes may be evolutionarily conserved in diverse taxa. © 2022 The Authors New Phytologist © 2022 New Phytologist Foundation.

Citation

Yan Wang, Shu-Yue Li, Ya-Zhong Wang, Yan He. ZmASY1 interacts with ZmPRD3 and is crucial for meiotic double-strand break formation in maize. The New phytologist. 2023 Jan;237(2):454-470