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MEIOB targets single-strand DNA and is necessary for meiotic recombination

Benoit Souquet1, Emilie Abby, Roxane Hervé

  • 1Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Laboratory of Development of the Gonads, Unit of Stem Cells and Radiation, UMR 967, Fontenay aux Roses, France ; CEA, DSV, iRCM, SCSR, LDG, Fontenay aux Roses, France ; INSERM, Unité 967, Fontenay aux Roses, France ; Univ. Paris-Sud, UMR 967, Fontenay aux Roses, France.

Plos Genetics
|September 27, 2013
PubMed

Insights

A newly discovered protein, meiosis specific with OB domain (MEIOB), is crucial for successful meiotic recombination and fertility in mice. MEIOB stabilizes key proteins, ensuring proper DNA repair and homologous chromosome pairing during meiosis.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Reproductive Biology

Background:

  • Meiotic recombination is essential for sexual reproduction.
  • The precise molecular mechanisms ensuring homologous recombination fidelity are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize novel proteins involved in meiotic homologous recombination.
  • To elucidate the function of the identified protein, MEIOB, in meiotic processes.

Main Methods:

  • In vitro biochemical assays to assess DNA binding properties of MEIOB.
  • In vivo studies including expression analysis, protein localization, and homologous gene deletion in mice.
  • Analysis of meiotic progression, DNA double-strand break repair, and recombinase focus dynamics in mutant mice.

Main Results:

  • MEIOB is a conserved, single-strand DNA-binding protein specifically expressed in early meiotic germ cells.
  • MEIOB co-localizes with RPA on chromosome axes and accumulates on resected DNA in Dmc1-deficient spermatocytes.
  • Homologous deletion of Meiob in mice leads to infertility due to meiotic arrest, impaired DNA repair, and failed homologous synapsis.
  • MEIOB is required for maintaining RAD51 and DMC1 foci stability beyond the zygotene stage, though not for initial recombinase loading.

Conclusions:

  • MEIOB is a novel, essential protein for successful meiotic recombination and fertility.
  • MEIOB, along with RPA, plays a critical role in stabilizing recombinases for homology search and DNA repair.
  • These findings provide new insights into the molecular regulation of meiotic homologous recombination.

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