The Arabidopsis Cdk1/Cdk2 homolog CDKA;1 controls chromosome axis assembly during plant meiosis

Chao Yang, Kostika Sofroni, Erik Wijnker, Yuki Hamamura, Lena Carstens, Hirofumi Harashima, Sara Christina Stolze, Daniel Vezon, Liudmila Chelysheva, Zsuzsanna Orban-Nemeth, Gaëtan Pochon, Hirofumi Nakagami, Peter Schlögelhofer, Mathilde Grelon, Arp Schnittger*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

45 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Meiosis is key to sexual reproduction and genetic diversity. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis cyclin-dependent kinase Cdk1/Cdk2 homolog CDKA;1 is an important regulator of meiosis needed for several aspects of meiosis such as chromosome synapsis. We identify the chromosome axis protein ASYNAPTIC 1 (ASY1), the Arabidopsis homolog of Hop1 (homolog pairing 1), essential for synaptonemal complex formation, as a target of CDKA;1. The phosphorylation of ASY1 is required for its recruitment to the chromosome axis via ASYNAPTIC 3 (ASY3), the Arabidopsis reductional division 1 (Red1) homolog, counteracting the disassembly activity of the AAA+ ATPase PACHYTENE CHECKPOINT 2 (PCH2). Furthermore, we have identified the closure motif in ASY1, typical for HORMA domain proteins, and provide evidence that the phosphorylation of ASY1 regulates the putative self-polymerization of ASY1 along the chromosome axis. Hence, the phosphorylation of ASY1 by CDKA;1 appears to be a two-pronged mechanism to initiate chromosome axis formation in meiosis.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere101625
JournalEMBO Journal
Volume39
Issue number3
Early online date26 Sept 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Feb 2020

Keywords

  • ASY1
  • ASY3
  • CDKA;1
  • chromosome axis
  • PCH2

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