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Use of Time-Lapse Microscopy and Stage-Specific Nuclear Depletion of Proteins to Study Meiosis in S. cerevisiae
07:48

Use of Time-Lapse Microscopy and Stage-Specific Nuclear Depletion of Proteins to Study Meiosis in S. cerevisiae

Published on: October 11, 2022

The pachytene checkpoint prevents accumulation and phosphorylation of the meiosis-specific transcription factor Ndt80

K S Tung1, E J Hong, G S Roeder

  • 1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8103, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|October 18, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Overexpression of the NDT80 gene in budding yeast bypasses the pachytene checkpoint. Ndt80 protein accumulation and phosphorylation are inhibited during pachytene arrest, indicating Ndt80 activity is key to exiting this meiotic stage.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Meiotic recombination and chromosome synapsis are crucial for accurate chromosome segregation.
  • Defects in these processes can lead to checkpoint-mediated arrest at the pachytene stage of meiotic prophase.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify genes that, when overexpressed, can bypass the pachytene checkpoint.
  • To elucidate the role of the NDT80 gene in meiotic progression and checkpoint control.

Main Methods:

  • Screening for genes that bypass the pachytene checkpoint upon overexpression.
  • Analyzing Ndt80 protein accumulation and phosphorylation during meiosis in wild-type and arrested cells.

Main Results:

  • The NDT80 gene was identified as a bypass gene for the pachytene checkpoint.
  • Ndt80 is a meiosis-specific transcription factor regulating exit from pachytene.
  • Ndt80 protein accumulates and is phosphorylated during normal meiosis but not in pachytene-arrested cells.

Conclusions:

  • Inhibition of Ndt80 activity is a mechanism for achieving pachytene arrest.
  • Ndt80 is essential for timely progression through meiosis I in budding yeast.

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