Region-specific meiotic recombination in Schizosaccharomyces pombe: the rec11 gene

Mutations in the rec11 gene of Schizosaccharomyces pombe reduce meiotic recombinant frequencies by as much as a factor of 300 on chromosome III but less than a factor of 4 in the intervals tested on chromosomes I and II. To gain insight into the function of this region- (or chromosome-) specific activator of recombination, we have cloned and sequenced the rec11 gene. Meiotic crosses with rec11 disruption mutations placed the rec11 gene 6 cM from ade6 on chromosome III. Transcripts of rec11 accumulated transiently at 2-3 h after induction of melosis in a pat1-114 (Ts) mutant. Reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of these transcripts revealed eight introns. The spliced RNA is predicted to encode a polypeptide of 923 amino acids with only very limited homology to reported proteins. The transient accumulation of rec11 transcripts and the phenotype of rec11 mutations suggest that the novel rec11 gene product acts early in meiosis to activate recombination preferentially on chromosome III.