Letter abstract
Nature Cell Biology 6, 555 - 562 (2004)
Published online: 16 May 2004 | doi:10.1038/ncb1135
Cohesin SMC1
is required for meiotic chromosome dynamics, sister chromatid cohesion and DNA recombination
Ekaterina Revenkova1,2, Maureen Eijpe2,3, Christa Heyting3, Craig A. Hodges4, Patricia A. Hunt4, Bodo Liebe5, Harry Scherthan5 & Rolf Jessberger1
Sister chromatid cohesion ensures the faithful segregation of chromosomes in mitosis and in both meiotic divisions1, 2, 3, 4. Meiosis-specific components of the cohesin complex, including the recently described SMC1 isoform SMC1
5, were suggested to be required for meiotic sister chromatid cohesion and DNA recombination. Here we show that SMC1-deficient mice of both sexes are sterile. Male meiosis is blocked in pachytene; female meiosis is highly error-prone but continues until metaphase II. Prophase axial elements (AEs) are markedly shortened, chromatin extends further from the AEs, chromosome synapsis is incomplete, and sister chromatid cohesion in chromosome arms and at centromeres is lost prematurely. In addition, crossover-associated recombination foci are absent or reduced, and meiosis-specific perinuclear telomere arrangements are impaired. Thus, SMC1 has a key role in meiotic cohesion, the assembly of AEs, synapsis, recombination, and chromosome movements.
- Center for Gene Therapy and Molecular Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, USA.
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
- Molecular Genetics Group, Wageningen University, 6703 BD Wageningen, The Netherlands.
- Department of Genetics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, D-14195 Berlin, Germany.
Correspondence to: Rolf Jessberger1 e-mail: rolf.jessberger@mssm.edu
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