Corona is required for higher-order assembly of transverse filaments into full-length synaptonemal complex in Drosophila Oocytes

Page, Scott L., Khetani, Radhika S., Lake, Cathleen M., Nielsen, Rachel J., Jeffress, Jennifer K., Warren, William D., Bickel, Sharon E., and Hawley, R. Scott (2008) Corona is required for higher-order assembly of transverse filaments into full-length synaptonemal complex in Drosophila Oocytes. PLoS Genetics, 4 (9). e1000194. pp. 1-12.

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Abstract

The synaptonemal complex (SC) is an intricate structure that forms between homologous chromosomes early during the meiotic prophase, where it mediates homolog pairing interactions and promotes the formation of genetic exchanges. In Drosophila melanogaster, C(3)G protein forms the transverse filaments (TFs) of the SC. The N termini of C(3)G homodimers localize to the Central Element (CE) of the SC, while the C-termini of C(3)G connect the TFs to the chromosomes via associations with the axial elements/lateral elements (AEs/LEs) of the SC. Here, we show that the Drosophila protein Corona (CONA) co-localizes with C(3)G in a mutually dependent fashion and is required for the polymerization of C(3)G into mature thread-like structures, in the context both of paired homologous chromosomes and of C(3)G polycomplexes that lack AEs/ LEs. Although AEs assemble in cona oocytes, they exhibit defects that are characteristic of c(3)G mutant oocytes, including failure of AE alignment and synapsis. These results demonstrate that CONA, which does not contain a coiled coil domain, is required for the stable ‘zippering’ of TFs to form the central region of the Drosophila SC. We speculate that CONA’s role in SC formation may be similar to that of the mammalian CE proteins SYCE2 and TEX12. However, the observation that AE alignment and pairing occurs in Tex12 and Syce2 mutant meiocytes but not in cona oocytes suggests that the SC plays a more critical role in the stable association of homologs in Drosophila than it does in mammalian cells.

Item ID: 8381
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1553-7390
Keywords: corona; synaptonemal complex
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© 2008 Page et al. 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.

Date Deposited: 18 Feb 2010 03:22
FoR Codes: 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0604 Genetics > 060403 Developmental Genetics (incl Sex Determination) @ 75%
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology > 060103 Cell Development, Proliferation and Death @ 25%
SEO Codes: 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 80%
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