The temporal and functional relationships between the DNA events of meiotic recombination and the synaptonemal complex (SC), a meiosis-specific structure formed between homolog axes, are subjects of intense discussion and investigation. A new study provides evidence that initiation of recombination (through programmed double-strand breaks (DSBs)) precedes initiation of SC formation, and further suggests that progression of recombination is required for formation of SC on a region-by-region basis. These conclusions derive from immunocytological analysis of a phosphorylated histone variant, γ-H2AX, previously found to be characteristic of DSB repair in mitotic cells, and shown here to be recruited for specialized use during meiosis.
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Hunter, N., Valentin Börner, G., Lichten, M. et al. γ-H2AX illuminates meiosis. Nat Genet 27, 236–238 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/85781
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/85781
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