DNA cytosine methylation suppresses meiotic recombination at the sex-determining region
Meiotic recombination between homologous chromosomes is vital for maximizing genetic variation among offspring. However, sex-determining regions are often rearranged and blocked from recombination. It remains unclear whether rearrangements or other mechanisms might be responsible for recombination suppression. Here, we uncover that the deficiency of the DNA cytosine methyltransferase DNMT1 in the green alga <i>Chlamydomonas reinhardtii</i> causes anomalous meiotic recombination at the mating-type locus (<i>MT</i>), generating haploid progeny containing both <i>plus</i> and <i>minus</i> mating-type markers due to crossovers within <i>MT</i>. The deficiency of a histone methyltransferase for H3K9 methylation does not lead to anomalous recombination. These findings suggest that DNA methylation, rather than rearrangements or histone methylation, suppresses meiotic recombination, revealing an unappreciated biological function for DNA methylation in eukaryotes.
Authors
- Guoliang Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3240-3141)
- Xiuqi Gui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7680-477X)
- Kaiyao Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8669-1065)
- Chaolong Wang
- Wei Xia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6818-8623)
- Jörn Walter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0563-7417)
- James Umen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4094-9045)
- Colum P. Walsh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9921-7506)
- Hui Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2312-3142)
- Zhen Shao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4934-4360)
- Wenqiang Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5600-4076)
- Ya-Rui Du
- J. Xu
- Tong Ge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4978-4234)
Institutions
- Linköping University (SE)
- Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CN)
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (US)
- Beijing Botanical Garden (CN)
- Institute of Hydrobiology (CN)
- Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health (CN)
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science (CN)
- Institute of Botany (CN)
- China National Botanical Garden
- Saarland University (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2024-10-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adr2345
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.10
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China