Molecular cloning of cDNAs encoding variants of meiotin-1. A meiotic protein associated with strings of nucleosomes

Meiotin-1 is a chromatin-associated protein, originally isolated from microsporocytes of Lilium longiflorum, which is found predominantly in cells undergoing meiotic prophase. Chromatin fractionation studies demonstrated that meiotin-1 has an unusual stoichiometry relative to that of histone H1 and the core histones in chromatin fibers. The protein is found less frequently than is histone H1, and appears to be distributed once every 5 to 13 nucleosomes. This distribution may approximate the number of nucleosomes per turn of the chromatin solenoid. A truncated cDNA was identified by immunoscreening of an expression library, and the cDNA was used as a hybridization probe to select a full length cDNA. Variations between the sequence of the predicted polypeptide and sequenced peptides, and variations between the amino acid composition of the protein and the deduced protein indicate that the cDNAs encode minor variants of mature meiotin-1. RNA gel blot hybridization studies reveal that the meiotin-1 mRNA is restricted to anthers in which meiosis is occurring. Computer analysis of the polypeptide deduced from the cDNA indicates that the protein begins with a region highly homologous to the conserved central globular domain of histone H1 molecules. DNA gel blotting experiments demonstrate that homologous sequences exist in the genomes of a fern, a fungus, and both mono- and dicotyledonous plants. Meiotin-1 has been evolutionarily conserved and I propose that it arose from histone H1 to fulfill a role in organizing meiotic chromatin.