Figures
SPO11-1 localization during recombination initiation in maize male meiocytes
Meiotic recombination is initiated by generating DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) via SPO11, a topoisomerase-related enzyme. The activity of SPO11 protein must be tightly regulated, given its potential threat to genome integrity. The surface-rendering image of a maize meiocyte shows that numerous SPO11-1 foci (green) are located within chromatin (blue) which is partially displayed, whereas only a small fraction of SPO11-1, correlating with DSB number, is loaded on DSY2-labeled chromosome axes (red). The analysis of maize spo11-1 mutants further suggests a possible SPO11-1-dependent mechanism which mediates conformational changes of meiotic chromosome axes. See Ku et al.
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Image Credit: Chiting Wang, Jeremy Catinot and Chung-Ju Rachel Wang.
Citation: (2020) PLoS Genetics Issue Image | Vol. 16(4) May 2020. PLoS Genet 16(4): ev16.i04. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pgen.v16.i04
Published: May 1, 2020
Copyright: © 2020 . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Meiotic recombination is initiated by generating DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) via SPO11, a topoisomerase-related enzyme. The activity of SPO11 protein must be tightly regulated, given its potential threat to genome integrity. The surface-rendering image of a maize meiocyte shows that numerous SPO11-1 foci (green) are located within chromatin (blue) which is partially displayed, whereas only a small fraction of SPO11-1, correlating with DSB number, is loaded on DSY2-labeled chromosome axes (red). The analysis of maize spo11-1 mutants further suggests a possible SPO11-1-dependent mechanism which mediates conformational changes of meiotic chromosome axes. See Ku et al.
Download April's cover page.
Image Credit: Chiting Wang, Jeremy Catinot and Chung-Ju Rachel Wang.