Pre-meiotic S phase is linked to reductional chromosome segregation and recombination

Meiosis is initiated from G1 of the cell cycle and is characterized by a pre-meiotic S phase followed by two successive nuclear divisions. The first of these, meiosis I, differs from mitosis in having a reductional pattern of chromosome segregation. Here we show that meiosis can be initiated from G2...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2001-01, Vol.409 (6818), p.359-363
Main Authors: Watanabe, Yoshinori, Yokobayashi, Shihori, Yamamoto, Masayuki, Nurse, Paul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Cell cycle, cell proliferation
Cell physiology
Cellular biology
Chromosome Segregation
Chromosomes
Chromosomes, Fungal
DNA Replication
DNA, Fungal - biosynthesis
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Fungal Proteins - genetics
Fungal Proteins - physiology
Genes, Fungal
Genetics
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
Meiosis - genetics
Molecular and cellular biology
multidisciplinary
Phosphoproteins
Rac8 protein
Recombinant Fusion Proteins - genetics
Recombinant Fusion Proteins - metabolism
Recombination, Genetic
S Phase
Schizosaccharomyces - genetics
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Yeasts
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Summary:Meiosis is initiated from G1 of the cell cycle and is characterized by a pre-meiotic S phase followed by two successive nuclear divisions. The first of these, meiosis I, differs from mitosis in having a reductional pattern of chromosome segregation. Here we show that meiosis can be initiated from G2 in fission yeast cells by ectopically activating the meiosis-inducing network. The subsequent meiosis I occurs without a pre-meiotic S phase and with decreased recombination, and exhibits a mitotic pattern of equational chromosome segregation. The subsequent meiosis II results in random chromosome segregation. This behaviour is similar to that observed in cells lacking the meiotic cohesin Rec8 (refs 3, 4), which becomes associated with chromosomes at G1/S phase, including the inner centromere, a region that is probably critical for sister-centromere orientation. If the expression of Rec8 is delayed to S phase/G2, then the centromeres behave equationally. We propose that the presence of Rec8 in chromatin is required at the pre-meiotic S phase to construct centromeres that behave reductionally and chromosome arms capable of a high level of recombination, and that this explains why meiosis is initiated from G1 of the cell cycle.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/35053103