The synaptonemal complex has liquid crystalline properties and spatially regulates meiotic recombination factors

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Abstract

The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a polymer that spans ~100nm between paired homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Its striated, periodic appearance in electron micrographs led to the idea that transverse filaments within this structure 'crosslink' the axes of homologous chromosomes, stabilizing their pairing. SC proteins can also form polycomplexes, three-dimensional lattices that recapitulate the periodic structure of SCs but do not associate with chromosomes. Here we provide evidence that SCs and polycomplexes contain mobile subunits and that their assembly is promoted by weak hydrophobic interactions, indicative of a liquid crystalline phase. We further show that in the absence of recombination intermediates, polycomplexes recapitulate the dynamic localization of pro-crossover factors during meiotic progression, revealing how the SC might act as a conduit to regulate chromosome-wide crossover distribution. Properties unique to liquid crystals likely enable long-range signal transduction along meiotic chromosomes and underlie the rapid evolution of SC proteins.

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Ofer Rog

Biology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States

For correspondence
ofer.rog@utah.edu

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Simone Köhler

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Abby F Dernburg

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States

For correspondence
afdernburg@lbl.gov

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

"This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-8037-1079

Funding

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Abby F Dernburg

National Institutes of Health (GM065591)

Abby F Dernburg

European Molecular Biology Organization (ALTF 564-2010)

Ofer Rog

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

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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.