The Meiotic Effect of a Deficiency in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER with a Model for the Effects of Enzyme Deficiency on Recombination

The meiotic effects of heterozygosity for a deficiency of the zeste-white region of the X chromosome include reduced recombination and increased non-disjunction of the entire chromosome complement. Reduced dosage of a gene or genes in the zeste-white interval, rather than structural heterozygosity, is responsible for the meiotic effect. A model for the recombination effects of reduced enzyme concentration has been developed, and its consequences are comparable with the results obtained for deficiency heterozygosity. Thus, all of the observations can be accounted for by imagining a dosage-sensitive locus in the zeste-white region that codes for an enzyme involved in the recombination process. The interaction of the interchromosomal effect of heterozygous inversions with the deficiency has been examined, and the possibility of using the model for the analysis of other meiotic phenomena is considered.     

Meiotic mutations from natural populations ofDrosophila melanogaster

Two meiotic genes from natural populations are described. A female meiotic mutation,mei(1)g13, mapped to 17.4 on the X chromosome, causes nondisjunction of all homologs except for the fourth chromosomes. In addition, it reduces recombination by 10% in the homozygotes and causes 18% increased recombination in the heterozygotes. A male meiotic mutation,mei-1223 ^m144 , is located on the third chromosome. Although this mutation causes nondisjunction of all chromosomes, each chromosome pair exhibits a different nondisjunction frequency. Large variations in the sizes of the premature sperm heads observed in the homozygotes may reflect irregular meiotic pairing and the subsequent abnormal segregation, resulting in aneuploid chromosome complements.     

The meiotic behavior of some single-cistron mutants in the zeste-white region of the Drosophila melanogaster X chromosome

Summary There are two dosage sensitive sites in the zeste-white region of the Drosophila melanogaster X chromosome that affect meiotic chromosome behavior. Single-cistron mutants at essential and female fertility loci in the two segments have been tested for meiotic effects similar to those of deficiencies. None of the mutants have detectable meiotic effects. A de novo search for meiotic mutants in the region has not uncovered any, but the results suggest that a deficiency for the zeste-white region would be useful for detecting meiotic mutants elsewhere in the genome. Tests for interactions between the deficiency and known meiotic mutants support this. Though tentative, these results suggest that non-essential regions need not be devoid of function.Research supported by National Science Foundation grant PCM 79-01824     

Orientation Disruptor (ord): A Recombination-Defective and Disjunction-Defective Meiotic Mutant in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

The effects of a semidominant autosomal meiotic mutant, orientation disruptor (symbol: ord), located at 2–103.5 on the genetic map and in region 59B-D of the salivary map, have been examined genetically and cytologically. The results are as follows. (1) Crossing over in homozygous females is reduced to about seven percent of controls on all chromosomes, with the reduction greatest in distal regions. (2) Crossing over on different chromosomes is independent. (3) Reductional nondisjunction of any given chromosome is increased to about thirty percent of gametes from homozygous females. The probability of such nondisjunction is the same among exchange and nonexchange tetrads with the exception that a very proximal exchange tends to regularize segregation. (4) Equational nondisjunction of each chromosome is increased to about ten percent of gametes in homozygous females; this nondisjunction is independent of exchange. (5) The distributive pairing system is operative in homozygous females. (6) In homozygous males, reductional nondisjunction of each chromosome is increased to about ten percent, and equational nondisjunction to about twenty percent, of all gametes. (7) Cytologically, two distinct meiotic divisions occur in spermatocytes of homozygous males. The first division looks normal although occasional univalents are present at prophase I and a few lagging chromosomes are seen at anaphase I. However, sister chromatids of most chromosomes have precociously separated by metaphase II. Possible functions of the ord⁺ gene are considered.     

Hybrid Sterility Locus on Chromosome X Controls Meiotic Recombination Rate in Mouse

Meiotic recombination safeguards proper segregation of homologous chromosomes into gametes, affects genetic variation within species, and contributes to meiotic chromosome recognition, pairing and synapsis. The Prdm9 gene has a dual role, it controls meiotic recombination by determining the genomic position of crossover hotspots and, in infertile hybrids of house mouse subspecies Mus m. musculus (Mmm) and Mus m. domesticus (Mmd), it further functions as the major hybrid sterility gene. In the latter role Prdm9 interacts with the hybrid sterility X 2 (Hstx2) genomic locus on Chromosome X (Chr X) by a still unknown mechanism. Here we investigated the meiotic recombination rate at the genome-wide level and its possible relation to hybrid sterility. Using immunofluorescence microscopy we quantified the foci of MLH1 DNA mismatch repair protein, the cytological counterparts of reciprocal crossovers, in a panel of inter-subspecific chromosome substitution strains. Two autosomes, Chr 7 and Chr 11, significantly modified the meiotic recombination rate, yet the strongest modifier, designated meiotic recombination 1, Meir1, emerged in the 4.7 Mb Hstx2 genomic locus on Chr X. The male-limited transgressive effect of Meir1 on recombination rate parallels the male-limited transgressive role of Hstx2 in hybrid male sterility. Thus, both genetic factors, the Prdm9 gene and the Hstx2/Meir1 genomic locus, indicate a link between meiotic recombination and hybrid sterility. A strong female-specific modifier of meiotic recombination rate with the effect opposite to Meir1 was localized on Chr X, distally to Meir1. Mapping Meir1 to a narrow candidate interval on Chr X is an important first step towards positional cloning of the respective gene(s) responsible for variation in the global recombination rate between closely related mouse subspecies.     

Parameters of Male and Female Recombination Influenced by the T-007 Second Chromosome in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

The T-007 second chromosome line of Drosophila melanogaster, previously shown to contain genetic elements responsible for male recombination induction, appears to affect several parameters of recombination in females. In T-007 heterozygous females, the distribution of recombination (but not the total frequency) is changed from that observed in control females; relative increases are observed in the more proximal regions of the second, third and X chromosomes, while relative decreases are observed more distally. These changes are paralleled by altered coefficient of coincidence values and in an increased nondisjunction frequency of second chromosomes. The distribution of recombination in females is strikingly similar to that observed in males as measured along the second and third chromosomes, and the frequency of nondisjunction of the X and Y chromosomes is increased in T-007 heterozygous males. Based upon these results and responses to the effect of structurally rearranged heterologues (the "interchromosomal effect"), it is suggested that T-007 affects the preconditions for meiotic exchange in females. It is not yet known if elements responsible for these effects are the same elements responsible for the numerous other traits associated with the T-007 second chromosome.     

Meiotic exchange and segregation in female mice heterozygous for paracentric inversions

Inversion heterozygosity has long been noted for its ability to suppress the transmission of recombinant chromosomes, as well as for altering the frequency and location of recombination events. In our search for meiotic situations with enrichment for nonexchange and/or single distal-exchange chromosome pairs, exchange configurations that are at higher risk for nondisjunction in humans and other organisms, we examined both exchange and segregation patterns in 2728 oocytes from mice heterozygous for paracentric inversions, as well as controls. We found dramatic alterations in exchange position in the heterozygotes, including an increased frequency of distal exchanges for two of the inversions studied. However, nondisjunction was not significantly increased in oocytes heterozygous for any inversion. When data from all inversion heterozygotes were pooled, meiotic nondisjunction was slightly but significantly higher in inversion heterozygotes (1.2%) than in controls (0%), although the frequency was still too low to justify the use of inversion heterozygotes as a model of human nondisjunction.     

Cytogenetic Analysis of a Segment of the Y Chromosome of DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

Males carrying a large deficiency in the long arm of the Y chromosome known to delete the fertility gene kl-2 are sterile and exhibit a complex phenotype: (1) First metaphase chromosomes are irregular in outline and appear sticky; (2) spermatids contain micronuclei; (3) the nebenkerns of the spermatids are nonuniform in size; (4) a high molecular weight protein ordinarily present in sperm is absent; and (5) crystals appear in the nucleus and cytoplasm of spermatocytes and spermatids. In such males that carry Ste⁺ on their X chromosome the crystals appear long and needle shaped; in Ste males the needles are much shorter and assemble into star-shaped aggregates. The large deficiency may be subdivided into two shorter component deficiencies. The more distal is male sterile and lacks the high molecular weight polypeptide; the more proximal is responsible for the remainder of the phenotype. Ste males carrying the more proximal component deficiency are sterile, but Ste ⁺ males are fertile. Genetic studies of chromosome segregation in such males reveal that (1) both the sex chromosomes and the large autosomes undergo nondisjunction, (2) the fourth chromosomes disjoin regularly, (3) sex chromosome nondisjunction is more frequent in cells in which the second or third chromosomes nondisjoin than in cells in which autosomal disjunction is regular, (4) in doubly exceptional cells, the sex chromosomes tend to segregate to the opposite pole from the autosomes and (5) there is meiotic drive; i.e., reciprocal meiotic products are not recovered with equal frequencies, complements with fewer chromosomes being recovered more frequently than those with more chromosomes. The proximal component deficiency can itself be further subdivided into two smaller component deficiencies, both of which have nearly normal spermatogenic phenotypes as observed in the light microscope. Meiosis in Ste ⁺ males carrying either of these small Y deficiencies is normal; Ste males, however, exhibit low levels of sex chromosome nondisjunction with either deficient Y. The meiotic phenotype is apparently sensitive to the amount of Y chromosome missing and to the Ste constitution of the X chromosome.     

Genome-Wide Control of the Distribution of Meiotic Recombination

Meiotic recombination events are not randomly distributed in the genome but occur in specific regions called recombination hotspots. Hotspots are predicted to be preferred sites for the initiation of meiotic recombination and their positions and activities are regulated by yet-unknown controls. The activity of the Psmb9 hotspot on mouse Chromosome 17 (Chr 17) varies according to genetic background. It is active in strains carrying a recombinant Chr 17 where the proximal third is derived from Mus musculus molossinus. We have identified the genetic locus required for Psmb9 activity, named Dsbc1 for Double-strand break control 1, and mapped this locus within a 6.7-Mb region on Chr 17. Based on cytological analysis of meiotic DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) and crossovers (COs), we show that Dsbc1 influences DSB and CO, not only at Psmb9, but in several other regions of Chr 17. We further show that CO distribution is also influenced by Dsbc1 on Chrs 15 and 18. Finally, we provide direct molecular evidence for the regulation in trans mediated by Dsbc1, by showing that it controls the CO activity at the Hlx1 hotspot on Chr 1. We thus propose that Dsbc1 encodes for a trans-acting factor involved in the specification of initiation sites of meiotic recombination genome wide in mice.     

The Utilization during Mitotic Cell Division of Loci Controlling Meiotic Recombination and Disjunction in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

To inquire whether the loci identified by recombination-defective and disjunction-defective meiotic mutants in Drosophila are also utilized during mitotic cell division, the effects of 18 meiotic mutants (representing 13 loci) on mitotic chromosome stability have been examined genetically. To do this, meiotic-mutant-bearing flies heterozygous for recessive somatic cell markers were examined for the frequencies and types of spontaneous clones expressing the cell markers. In such flies, marked clones can arise via mitotic recombination, mutation, chromosome breakage, nondisjunction or chromosome loss, and clones from these different origins can be distinguished. In addition, meiotic mutants at nine loci have been examined for their effects on sensitivity to killing by UV and X rays.—Mutants at six of the seven recombination-defective loci examined (mei-9, mei-41, c(3)G, mei-W68, mei-S282, mei-352, mei-218) cause mitotic chromosome instability in both sexes, whereas mutants at one locus (mei-218) do not affect mitotic chromosome stability. Thus many of the loci utilized during meiotic recombination also function in the chromosomal economy of mitotic cells.—The chromosome instability produced by mei-41 alleles is the consequence of chromosome breakage, that of mei-9 alleles is primarily due to chromosome breakage and, to a lesser extent, to an elevated frequency of mitotic recombination, whereas no predominant mechanism responsible for the instability caused by c(3)G alleles is discernible. Since these three loci are defective in their responses to mutagen damage, their effects on chromosome stability in nonmutagenized cells are interpreted as resulting from an inability to repair spontaneous lesions. Both mei-W68 and mei-S282 increase mitotic recombination (and in mei-W68, to a lesser extent, chromosome loss) in the abdomen but not the wing. In the abdomen, the primary effect on chromosome stability occurs during the larval period when the abdominal histoblasts are in a nondividing (G2) state.—Mitotic recombination is at or above control levels in the presence of each of the recombination-defective meiotic mutants examined, suggesting that meiotic and mitotic recombination are under separate genetic control in Drosophila.—Of the six mutants examined that are defective in processes required for regular meiotic chromosome segregation, four (l(1)TW-6^cs, ca^nd, mei-S332, ord) affect mitotic chromosome behavior. At semi-restrictive temperatures, the cold sensitive lethal l(1)TW-6^cs causes very frequent somatic spots, a substantial proportion of which are attributable to nondisjunction or loss. Thus, this locus specifies a function essential for chromosome segregation at mitosis as well as at the first meiotic division in females. The patterns of mitotic effects caused by ca^nd, mei-S332, and ord suggest that they may be leaky alleles at essential loci that specify functions common to meiosis and mitosis. Mutants at the two remaining loci (nod, pal) do not affect mitotic chromosome stability.     

Maternal-Zygotic Lethal Interactions in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER: The Effects of Deficiencies in the Zeste-White Region of the X Chromosome

The possibility that essential loci in the zeste-white region of the Drosophila melanogaster X chromosome are expressed both maternally and zygotically has been tested. Maternal gene activity was varied by altering gene dose, and zygotic gene activity was manipulated by use of position-effect variegation of a duplication. Viability is affected when both maternal and zygotic gene activity are reduced, but not when either maternal or zygotic gene activity is normal. Tests of a set of overlapping deficiencies demonstrate that at least three sections of the zeste-white region yield maternal zygotic lethal interactions. Single-cistron mutations at two loci in one of these segments have been tested, and maternal heterozygosity for mutations at both loci give lethal responses of mutant-duplication zygotes. Thus, at least four of the 13 essential functions coded in the zeste-white region are active both maternally and zygotically, suggesting that a substantial fraction of the genome may function at both stages. The normal survival of zygotes when either maternal gene expression or zygotic gene expression is normal, and their inviability when both are depressed, suggests that a developmental stage exists when maternally determined functions and zygotically coded functions are both in use.     

The effect of gamma radiation on recombination frequency in Caenorhabditis elegans

We have studied the effect of gamma radiation on recombination frequency for intervals across the cluster of linkage group I in Caenorhabditis elegans. Recombination frequency increased approximately twofold across the dpy-5-unc-13 interval after treatment with 2000 rads (1 rad = 10 mGy) of cobalt 60 gamma radiation. Several factors affecting the magnitude of the increase have been characterized. Recombination frequency increased more with higher doses of radiation. However, the increase in recombination frequency with increasing dose was accompanied by a reduced average number of progeny from radiation-treated individuals. The amount of the increase was affected by meiotic stage, age at the time of treatment (premeiotic), and radiation dose. The increase in recombination was detectable in the B brood and remained elevated for the remainder of egg production. X-chromosome nondisjunction was also increased by radiation treatment. A high frequency of the recombinant progeny produced with radiation treatment were sterile unlike their nonrecombinant siblings. When parameters affecting recombination frequency are held constant during treatment, chromosomal regions of high gene density on the meiotic map increased more (fourfold) than an adjacent region of low gene density (no increase). The greatest increase was across the dpy-14-unc-13 interval near the center of the gene cluster. These results may suggest that the physical length of DNA per map unit is greater within the cluster than outside.     

Sex Chromosome Meiotic Drive Systems in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER I. Abnormal Spermatid Development in Males with a Heterochromatin-Deficient X Chromosome (sc4sc8)

The meiotic drive characteristics of the In(1)sc^4Lsc^8R/Y system have been examined by genetic analysis and by light and electron microscopy. sc⁴sc⁸/Y males show a direct correlation between nondisjunction frequency and meiotic drive. Temperature-shift experiments reveal that the temperature-sensitive period for nondisjunction is at meiosis, whereas that for meiotic drive has both meiotic and post-meiotic components. Cytological analyses in the light and electron microscopes reveal failures in spermiogenesis in the testes of sc⁴sc⁸ males. The extent of abnormal spermatid development increases as nondisjunction becomes more extreme.     

Meiosis in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER. III. the Effect of Orientation Disruptor (ord) on Gonial Mitotic and the Meiotic Divisions in Males

Orientation disruptor (ord), a meiotic mutant that is recombination defective in females and disjunction defective in males and females, has been analyzed using serial section electron and light microscopy. From analysis of primary spermatocytes we have confirmed that ord males are defective in some aspect of the mechanism(s) that holds sister chromatids together during meiosis. In addition, we have determined that ord causes high frequencies of nondisjunction during spermatogonial mitotic divisions, as well as during the meiotic divisions. Mitotic nondisjunction involves the large autosomes more frequently than the sex chromosomes or chromosome 4 and results in high frequencies of primary spermatocytes that are either monosomic or trisomic for chromosome 2 or 3. Abnormalities in spermatocyte cyst formation are also observed in males homozygous for ord. These abnormalities include loss of regulation of meiotic synchrony and the number of gonial cell divisions.     

Radiation-Sensitive Mutants of CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS

Nine rad (for abnormal radiation sensitivity) mutants hypersensitive to ultraviolet light were isolated in the small nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The mutations are recessive to their wild-type alleles, map to four of the six linkage groups in C. elegans and define nine new games named rad-1 through rad-9. Two of the mutants—rad-1 and rad-2—are very hypersensitive to X rays, and three—rad-2, rad-3 and rad-4—are hypersensitive to methyl methanesulfonate under particular conditions of exposure. The hypersensitivity of these mutants to more than one DNA-damaging agent suggests that they may be abnormal in DNA repair. One mutant—rad-5, a temperature-sensitive sterile mutant—shows an elevated frequency of spontaneous mutation at more than one locus; rad-4, which shows a cold-sensitive embryogenesis, reduces meiotic X-chromosome nondisjunction tenfold and partially suppresses some but not all mutations that increase meiotic X-chromosome nondisjunction; the viability of rad-6 hermaphrodites is half that of rad-6 males at 25°; and newly mature (but not older) rad-8 hermaphrodites produce many inviable embryo progeny. Meiotic recombination frequencies were measured for seven rad mutants and found to be close to normal.     

Regional control of nondisjunction of the B chromosome in maize

Control of nondisjunction in the maize B chromosome was studied using a set of B-10 translocations. The study focused on the possible effect of the proximal region of the B long arm. The experimental procedure utilized a combination of a 10^B chromosome from one translocation with a B¹⁰ from another translocation. The breakpoints of the two translocations were so located that combination of the two elements created a deletion in the proximal region of the B chromosome, but no deletion in chromosome 10. Two different types of deletions were established; one involved a portion of the euchromatic region and the other the entire heterochromatic portion comprising the distal half of the B long arm, except for the small euchromatic tip. Deletion of the heterochromatic portion did not exert any effect on nondisjunction. Deletions of different portions of the euchromatic region produce different responses. Some deletions resulted in typical B nondisjunctional activity; others resulted in the disappearance of this activity. It is concluded that a region within the euchromatic portion of the chromosome is critical for the nondisjunction of B chromosomes. Among 22 translocations with breakpoints in the euchromatic regions, three were proximal to the critical region, 16 were distal and the position of three others was not determined.     

The Effects of Translocations on Recombination Frequency in Caenorhabditis Elegans

In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, recombination suppression in translocation heterozygotes is severe and extensive. We have examined the meiotic properties of two translocations involving chromosome I, szT1(I;X) and hT1(I;V). No recombination was observed in either of these translocation heterozygotes along the left (let-362-unc-13) 17 map units of chromosome I. Using half-translocations as free duplications, we mapped the breakpoints of szT1 and hT1. The boundaries of crossover suppression coincided with the physical breakpoints. We propose that DNA sequences at the right end of chromosome I facilitate pairing and recombination. We use the data from translocations of other chromosomes to map the location of pairing sites on four other chromosomes. hT1 and szT1 differed markedly in their effect on recombination adjacent to the crossover suppressed region. hT1 had no effect on recombination in the adjacent interval. In contrast, the 0.8 map unit interval immediately adjacent to the szT1(I;X) breakpoint on chromosome I increased to 2.5 map units in translocation heterozygotes. This increase occurs in a chromosomal interval which can be expanded by treatment with radiation. These results are consistent with the suggestion that the szT1(I) breakpoint is in a region of DNA in which meiotic recombination is suppressed relative to the genomic average. We propose that DNA sequences disrupted by the szT1 translocation are responsible for determining the frequency of meiotic recombination in the vicinity of the breakpoint.     

Mutation tests in Neurospora crassa: A report of the U.S. environmental protection agency gene-tox program

Many mutation tests have been developed in Neurospora crassa during the almost 40 years of its use in mutation research. These tests detect two major classes of mutation: gene mutation and meiotic nondisjunction. Within the first class, forward- and reverse-mutation tests have been used. The forward-mutation tests include those that detect mutations at many loci and at specific loci. Both kinds of forward-mutation tests have been done in homokaryons (n) and heterokaryons (n + n′). From the publications that were not rejected by our pre-established criteria, data were extracted for 166 chemicals that had been tested for mutagenicity. Only 6 of the 166 chemicals have been tested in one or more gene mutation test and the meiotic nondisjunction test; these 6 chemicals were positive in the first and negative in the second. Of the 102 chemicals tested in one or more gene mutation tests, 94 were positive and 8 were negative. Of the 70 chemicals tested in the meiotic nondisjunction test, 7 were positive and 63 were negative.Two tests, the ad-3) forward-mutation test and the meiotic nondisjunction test, have been used most frequently. These two tests are especially important for hazard evaluation, because each detects a class of mutations that is likely to be deleterious or lethal in the F₁ - disomics by the meiotic nondisjunction test and multilocus deletions by the ad-3 forward-mutation test in heterokaryons. Generally, direct-acting chemicals are mutagenic in the gene mutation tests, but few chemicals that required metabolic activation have been tested. Only 31 of the 166 chemicals tested in N. crassa have been tested for carcinogenicity. Among these chemicals, there is a good association between mutagenicity in gene mutation tests and carcinogenicity but a poorer association between meiotic nondisjunction and carcinogenicity; however, only a small number of chemicals has been tested in the meiotic nondisjunction test. Further use and development of certain mutation tests in N. crassa are desirable.     

Centromere mapping functions for aneuploid meiotic products: Analysis of rec8, rec10 and rec11 mutants of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

Recent evidence suggests that the position of reciprocal recombination events (crossovers) is important for the segregation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis I and sister chromatids during meiosis II. We developed genetic mapping functions that permit the simultaneous analysis of centromere-proximal crossover recombination and the type of segregation error leading to aneuploidy. The mapping functions were tested in a study of the rec8, rec10, and rec11 mutants of fission yeast. In each mutant we monitored each of the three chromosome pairs. Between 38 and 100% of the chromosome segregation errors in the rec8 mutants were due to meiosis I nondisjunction of homologous chromosomes. The remaining segregation errors were likely the result of precocious separation of sister chromatids, a previously described defect in the rec8 mutants. Between 47 and 100% of segregation errors in the rec10 and rec11 mutants were due to nondisjunction of sister chromatids during meiosis II. In addition, centromere-proximal recombination was reduced as much as 14-fold or more on chromosomes that had experienced nondisjunction. These results demonstrate the utility of the new mapping functions and support models in which sister chromatid cohesion and crossover position are important determinants for proper chromosome segregation in each meiotic division.     

Inbreeding and the genetic control of nondisjunction

Summary We have studied the frequency of trisomics in newly formed zygotes and the proportion of trisomics, k, coming from consanguineous marriages by assuming that recessive genes at a single locus or multiple loci are responsible for the induction of nondisjunction. For mitotic nondisjunction, the value of k increases as the magnitude of consanguinity of the parents increases, but the opposite relationship holds for meiotic nondisjunction. Therefore, it is important to distinguish mitotic and meiotic types in the genetic study of nondisjunction. This seems to be one of the simples tests for detecting the genetic control of nondisjunction.