Generating crossovers by resolution of nicked Holliday junctions: a role for Mus81-Eme1 in meiosis.

Journal article

The double Holliday junction (dHJ) is generally regarded to be a key intermediate of meiotic recombination, whose resolution is critical for the formation of crossover recombinants. In fission yeast, the Mus81-Eme1 endonuclease has been implicated in resolving dHJs. Consistent with this role, we show that Mus81-Eme1 is required for generating meiotic crossovers. However, purified Mus81-Eme1 prefers to cleave junctions that mimic those formed during the transition from double-strand break to dHJ. Crucially, these junctions are cleaved by Mus81-Eme1 in precisely the right orientation to guarantee the formation of a crossover every time. These data demonstrate how crossovers could arise without forming or resolving dHJs using an enzyme that is widely conserved amongst eukaryotes.

Authors: Osman, F; Dixon, J; Doe, C; Whitby, M

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Molecular cell
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 761-774
• Publication date: 2003-09-01
• DOI: 10.1016/s1097-2765(03)00343-5
• EISSN: 1097-4164
• ISSN: 1097-2765
• Language: English
• Keywords: Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; Meiosis; Nucleic Acid Conformation; DNA-Binding Proteins; Crossing Over, Genetic; Recombination, Genetic; Schizosaccharomyces; DNA; Endonucleases; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins