Abstract
In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, meiotic recombination is initiated by Spo11-dependent double-strand breaks (DSBs), a process that precedes homologous synapsis. Here we use an antibody specific for a phosphorylated histone (gamma-H2AX, which marks the sites of DSBs) to investigate the timing, distribution and Spo11-dependence of meiotic DSBs in the mouse. We show that, as in yeast, recombination in the mouse is initiated by Spo11-dependent DSBs that form during leptotene. Loss of gamma-H2AX staining (which in irradiated somatic cells is temporally linked with DSB repair) is temporally and spatially correlated with synapsis, even when this synapsis is 'non-homologous'.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Antibodies
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Cell Cycle Proteins
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DNA / genetics*
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DNA / metabolism
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DNA Nucleotidyltransferases / metabolism
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DNA-Binding Proteins
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Endodeoxyribonucleases
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Esterases / genetics
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Esterases / metabolism
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Female
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Histones / immunology
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Histones / metabolism
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Integrases*
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Male
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Meiosis / genetics*
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Meiosis / physiology
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Mice
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Mice, Knockout
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Microscopy, Fluorescence
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Proteins / genetics
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Proteins / metabolism
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Recombinases
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Recombination, Genetic*
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Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
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Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism
Substances
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Antibodies
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Cell Cycle Proteins
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DNA-Binding Proteins
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Histones
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Msh5 protein, mouse
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Proteins
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Recombinases
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DNA
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DNA Nucleotidyltransferases
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Integrases
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integron integrase IntI1
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Endodeoxyribonucleases
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Esterases
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meiotic recombination protein SPO11