Abstract
We show that multiple, functionally specialized cohesin complexes mediate the establishment and two-step release of sister chromatid cohesion that underlies the production of haploid gametes. In C. elegans, the meiotic kleisin subunits REC-8 and COH-3/4 endow cohesins with distinctive properties, specifying how cohesins load onto chromosomes and then trigger and release cohesion. Unlike REC-8 cohesin, COH-3/4 cohesin becomes cohesive through a replication-independent mechanism initiated by the DNA double-stranded breaks that induce crossover recombination. Thus, break-induced cohesion also tethers replicated meiotic chromosomes. Later, recombination stimulates separase-independent removal of REC-8 and COH-3/4 cohesins from reciprocal chromosomal territories flanking the crossover site. This region-specific removal likely underlies the two-step separation of homologs and sisters. Unexpectedly, COH-3/4 performs cohesion-independent functions in synaptonemal complex assembly. This new model for cohesin function in reducing genome copy number diverges from that established in yeast but likely applies directly to plants and mammals, which utilize similar meiotic kleisins.
Article and author information
Author details
Reviewing Editor
- Bernard de Massy, Institute of Human Genetics, CNRS UPR 1142, France
Publication history
- Received: May 23, 2014
- Accepted: August 28, 2014
- Accepted Manuscript published: August 29, 2014 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: September 25, 2014 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2014, Severson & Meyer
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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