A Genetic Analysis of the Drosophilamcm5Gene Defines a Domain Specifically Required for Meiotic Recombination
- 1 August 2007
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Genetics
- Vol. 176 (4), 2151-2163
- https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.107.073551
Abstract
Members of the minichromosome maintenance (MCM) family have pivotal roles in many biological processes. Although originally studied for their role in DNA replication, it is becoming increasingly apparent that certain members of this family are multifunctional and also play roles in transcription, cohesion, condensation, and recombination. Here we provide a genetic dissection of the mcm5 gene in Drosophila that demonstrates an unexpected function for this protein. First, we show that homozygotes for a null allele of mcm5 die as third instar larvae, apparently as a result of blocking those replication events that lead to mitotic divisions without impairing endo-reduplication. However, we have also recovered a viable and fertile allele of mcm5 (denoted mcm5A7) that specifically impairs the meiotic recombination process. We demonstrate that the decrease in recombination observed in females homozygous for mcm5A7 is not due to a failure to create or repair meiotically induced double strand breaks (DSBs), but rather to a failure to resolve those DSBs into meiotic crossovers. Consistent with their ability to repair meiotically induced DSBs, flies homozygous for mcm5A7 are fully proficient in somatic DNA repair. These results strengthen the observation that members of the prereplicative complex have multiple functions and provide evidence that mcm5 plays a critical role in the meiotic recombination pathway.Keywords
This publication has 50 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Origin Recognition Complex Functions in Sister-Chromatid Cohesion in Saccharomyces cerevisiaeCell, 2007
- Single Holliday Junctions Are Intermediates of Meiotic RecombinationCell, 2006
- Direct interaction between cohesin complex and DNA replication machineryBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2006
- Temporal Analysis of Meiotic DNA Double-Strand Break Formation and Repair in Drosophila FemalesPLoS Genetics, 2006
- REC, Drosophila MCM8, Drives Formation of Meiotic CrossoversPLoS Genetics, 2005
- Interaction of hRad51 and hRad52 with MCM complex: A cross-talk between recombination and replication proteinsBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2005
- Studies on crossover-specific mutants and the distribution of crossing over in Drosophila femalesCytogenetic and Genome Research, 2004
- Eukaryotic MCM Proteins: Beyond Replication InitiationMicrobiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 2004
- DNA Repair in DrosophilaThe Journal of cell biology, 2000
- Are there morphologically abnormal early recombination nodules in the Drosophila melanogaster meiotic mutant mei-218?Genome, 1989