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Functional dissection of in vivo interchromosome association in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Nature Cell Biology volume 2, pages 812–818 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Homologue pairing mediates both recombination and segregation of chromosomes at meiosis I. The recognition of nucleic-acid-sequence homology within the somatic nucleus has an impact on DNA repair and epigenetic control of gene expression. Here we investigate interchromosomal interactions using a non-invasive technique that allows tagging and visualization of DNA sequences in vegetative and meiotic live yeast cells. In non-meiotic cells, chromosomes are ordered in the nucleus, but preferential pairing between homologues is not observed. Association of tagged chromosomal domains occurs irrespective of their genomic location, with some preference for similar chromosomal positions. Here we describe a new phenomenon that promotes associations between sequence-identical ectopic tags with a tandem-repeat structure. These associations, termed interchromosome trans-associations, may underlie epigenetic phenomena.

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Figure 1: Interchromosome-association assay and tag positions.
Figure 2: Time course of sporulation.
Figure 3: In vivo chromosome association in meiosis.
Figure 4: In vivo association of GFP chromosome tags during the mitotic cycle.
Figure 5: Trans-association of chromosomal tags.
Figure 6: Dissection of somatic interchromosomal trans-association and meiotic homologue pairing.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Lichten, A. Straight, A. Murray, D. Koshland and K. Nasmyth for research materials, and A. Wolffe, E. Ballestar, M. Dasso, O. Cohen-Fix, L. Freeman, F. Urnov, C. P. Lichtestein and A. R. Leitch for ideas and comments on the manuscript. L.A-A. was supported by the NICHD Intramural Research Training Award and in part by the BBSRC.

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  1. Luis Aragón-Alcaide

    Present address: Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK

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  1. Unit of Chromosome Structure and Function, NICHD, National Institutes of Health, 18T Library Drive, Bethesda, 20892-5430, Maryland, USA

    Luis Aragón-Alcaide & Alexander V. Strunnikov

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Correspondence to Alexander V. Strunnikov.

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Aragón-Alcaide, L., Strunnikov, A. Functional dissection of in vivo interchromosome association in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Nat Cell Biol 2, 812–818 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35041055

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