Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow Print PDF (253K) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (14)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Commercial Re-use Guidelines
for Open Access NAR Content
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Anuradha, S.
Right arrow Articles by Muniyappa, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Anuradha, S.
Right arrow Articles by Muniyappa, K.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Published online 28 April 2004

Nucleic Acids Research, 2004, Vol. 32, No. 8 2378-2385
© 2004 Oxford University Press

Meiosis-specific yeast Hop1 protein promotes synapsis of double-stranded DNA helices via the formation of guanine quartets

S. Anuradha and K. Muniyappa*

Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +91 80 2394 2235/2360 0278; Fax: +91 80 2360 0814/0683; Email: kmbc{at}biochem.iisc.ernet.in

Received February 28, 2004; Revised March 22, 2004; Accepted April 1, 2004

In most eukaryotes, genetic exchange between paired homologs occurs in the context of a tripartite proteinaceous structure called the synaptonemal complex (SC). Genetic analyses have revealed that the genes encoding SC proteins are vital for meiotic chromosome pairing and recombination. However, the number, nature and/or the mechanism used by SC proteins to align chromosomes are yet to be clearly defined. Here, we show that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hop1, a component of SC, was able to promote pairing of double-stranded DNA helices containing arrays of mismatched G/G sequences. Significantly, pairing was rapid and robust, independent of homology in the arms flanking the central G/G region, and required four contiguous guanine residues. Furthermore, data from truncated DNA double helices showed that 20 bp on either side of the 8 bp mismatched G/G region was essential for efficient synapsis. Methylation interference indicated that pairing between the two DNA double helices involves G quartets. These results suggest that Hop1 is likely to play a direct role in meiotic chromosome pairing and recombination by its ability to promote synapsis between double-stranded DNA helices containing arrays of G residues. To our knowledge, Hop1 is the first protein shown to promote synapsis of DNA double helices from yeast or any other organism.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Biol. Chem.Home page
S. Anuradha and K. Muniyappa
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hop1 Zinc Finger Motif Is the Minimal Region Required for Its Function in Vitro
J. Biol. Chem., July 9, 2004; 279(28): 28961 - 28969.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.