A DNA topoisomerase VI-like complex initiates meiotic recombination

Nathalie Vrielynck (1, 2) , Aurélie A. Chambon (1, 2) , Daniel Vezon (1, 2) , Lucie L. Pereira (1, 2) , Liudmila L. Chelysheva (1, 2) , Arnaud de Muyt (1, 2) , Christine Mezard (1, 2) , Claudine Mayer (3) , Mathilde Grelon (1, 2)

1 IJPB - Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin
2 CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
3 Spectrométrie de Masse structurale et protéomique

The SPO11 protein catalyzes the formation of meiotic DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) and is homologous to theAsubunit of an archaeal topoisomerase (topo VI). Topo VI are heterotetrameric enzymes comprising two A and two B subunits; however, no topo VIBinvolved inmeiotic recombination had been identified. We characterized a structural homolog of the archaeal topo VIB subunit [meiotic topoisomerase VIB-like (MTOPVIB)], which is essential for meiotic DSB formation. It forms a complexwith the two Arabidopsis thaliana SPO11 orthologs required for meiotic DSB formation (SPO11-1 and SPO11-2) and is absolutely required for the formation of the SPO11-1/SPO11-2 heterodimer. These findings suggest that the catalytic core complex responsible for meiotic DSB formation in eukaryotes adopts a topo VI-like structure.

Mots clés: Double-strand breaks; Arabidopsis; Spo11; Eukaryotes; Subunit; Family

Mots clés: Meiosis; Plants; Cells

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]; Biologie végétale; Ingénierie des aliments; Génie des procédés

Nathalie Vrielynck, Aurélie A. Chambon, Daniel Vezon, Lucie L. Pereira, Liudmila L. Chelysheva, et al.. A DNA topoisomerase VI-like complex initiates meiotic recombination. Science, 2016, 351 (6276), pp.939-943. ⟨10.1126/science.aad5196⟩. ⟨hal-02637684⟩