RAD51B plays an essential role during somatic and meiotic recombination in Physcomitrella

The eukaryotic RecA homologue Rad51 is a key factor in homologous recombination and recombinational repair. Rad51-like proteins have been identified in yeast (Rad55, Rad57 and Dmc1), plants and vertebrates (RAD51B, RAD51C, RAD51D, XRCC2, XRCC3 and DMC1). RAD51 and DMC1 are the strand-exchange proteins forming a nucleofilament for strand invasion, however, the function of the paralogues in the process of homologous recombination is less clear. In yeast the two Rad51 paralogues, Rad55 and Rad57, have been shown to be involved in somatic and meiotic HR and they are essential to the formation of the Rad51/DNA nucleofilament counterbalancing the anti-recombinase activity of the SRS2 helicase. Here, we examined the role of RAD51B in the model bryophyte Physcomitrella patens. Mutant analysis shows that RAD51B is essential for the maintenance of genome integrity, for resistance to DNA damaging agents and for gene targeting. Furthermore, we set up methods to investigate meiosis in Physcomitrella and we demonstrate that the RAD51B protein is essential for meiotic homologous recombination. Finally, we show that all these functions are independent of the SRS2 anti-recombinase protein, which is in striking contrast to what is found in budding yeast where the RAD51 paralogues are fully dependent on the SRS2 anti-recombinase function.     

The recombinases DMC1 and RAD51 are functionally and spatially separated during meiosis in Arabidopsis

Meiosis ensures the reduction of the genome before the formation of generative cells and promotes the exchange of genetic information between homologous chromosomes by recombination. Essential for these events are programmed DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) providing single-stranded DNA overhangs after their processing. These overhangs, together with the RADiation sensitive51 (RAD51) and DMC1 Disrupted Meiotic cDNA1 (DMC1) recombinases, mediate the search for homologous sequences. Current models propose that the two ends flanking a meiotic DSB have different fates during DNA repair, but the molecular details remained elusive. Here we present evidence, obtained in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, that the two recombinases, RAD51 and DMC1, localize to opposite sides of a meiotic DSB. We further demonstrate that the ATR kinase is involved in regulating DMC1 deposition at meiotic DSB sites, and that its elimination allows DMC1-mediated meiotic DSB repair even in the absence of RAD51. DMC1's ability to promote interhomolog DSB repair is not a property of the protein itself but the consequence of an ASYNAPTIC1 (Hop1)-mediated impediment for intersister repair. Taken together, these results demonstrate that DMC1 functions independently and spatially separated from RAD51 during meiosis and that ATR is an integral part of the regular meiotic program.     

Together yes, but not coupled: new insights into the roles of RAD51 and DMC1 in plant meiotic recombination

The eukaryotic recombinases RAD51 and DMC1 are essential for DNA strand-exchange between homologous chromosomes during meiosis. RAD51 is also expressed during mitosis, and mediates homologous recombination (HR) between sister chromatids. It has been suggested that DMC1 might be involved in the switch from intersister chromatid recombination in somatic cells to interhomolog meiotic recombination. At meiosis, the Arabidopsis Atrad51 null mutant fails to synapse and has extensive chromosome fragmentation. The Atdmc1 null mutant is also asynaptic, but in this case chromosome fragmentation is absent. Thus in plants, AtDMC1 appears to be indispensable for interhomolog homologous recombination, whereas AtRAD51 seems to be more involved in intersister recombination. In this work, we have studied a new AtRAD51 knock-down mutant, Atrad51-2, which expresses only a small quantity of RAD51 protein. Atrad51-2 mutant plants are sterile and hypersensitive to DNA double-strand break induction, but their vegetative development is apparently normal. The meiotic phenotype of the mutant consists of partial synapsis, an elevated frequency of univalents, a low incidence of chromosome fragmentation and multivalent chromosome associations. Surprisingly, non-homologous chromosomes are involved in 51% of bivalents. The depletion of AtDMC1 in the Atrad51-2 background results in the loss of bivalents and in an increase of chromosome fragmentation. Our results suggest that a critical level of AtRAD51 is required to ensure the fidelity of HR during interchromosomal exchanges. Assuming the existence of asymmetrical DNA strand invasion during the initial steps of recombination, we have developed a working model in which the initial step of strand invasion is mediated by AtDMC1, with AtRAD51 required to check the fidelity of this process.     

Meiotic Recombination in Arabidopsis Is Catalysed by DMC1, with RAD51 Playing a Supporting Role

Recombination establishes the chiasmata that physically link pairs of homologous chromosomes in meiosis, ensuring their balanced segregation at the first meiotic division and generating genetic variation. The visible manifestation of genetic crossing-overs, chiasmata are the result of an intricate and tightly regulated process involving induction of DNA double-strand breaks and their repair through invasion of a homologous template DNA duplex, catalysed by RAD51 and DMC1 in most eukaryotes. We describe here a RAD51-GFP fusion protein that retains the ability to assemble at DNA breaks but has lost its DNA break repair capacity. This protein fully complements the meiotic chromosomal fragmentation and sterility of Arabidopsis rad51, but not rad51 dmc1 mutants. Even though DMC1 is the only active meiotic strand transfer protein in the absence of RAD51 catalytic activity, no effect on genetic map distance was observed in complemented rad51 plants. The presence of inactive RAD51 nucleofilaments is thus able to fully support meiotic DSB repair and normal levels of crossing-over by DMC1. Our data demonstrate that RAD51 plays a supporting role for DMC1 in meiotic recombination in the flowering plant, Arabidopsis.     

Positive role of the mammalian TBPIP/HOP2 protein in DMC1-mediated homologous pairing

In meiosis, homologous recombination preferentially occurs between homologous chromosomes rather than between sister chromatids, which is opposite to the bias of mitotic recombinational repair. The TBPIP/HOP2 protein is a factor that ensures the proper pairing of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. In the present study, we found that the purified mouse TBPIP/HOP2 protein stimulated homologous pairing catalyzed by the meiotic DMC1 recombinase in vitro. In contrast, TBPIP/HOP2 did not stimulate homologous pairing by RAD51, which is another homologous pairing protein acting in both meiotic and mitotic recombination. The positive effect of TBPIP/HOP2 in the DMC1-mediated homologous pairing was only observed when TBPIP/HOP2 first binds to double-stranded DNA, not to single-stranded DNA, before the initiation of the homologous pairing reaction. Deletion analyses revealed that the C-terminal basic region of TBPIP/HOP2 is required for efficient DNA binding and is also essential for its homologous pairing stimulation activity. Therefore, these results suggest that TBPIP/HOP2 directly binds to DNA and functions as an activator for DMC1 during the homologous pairing step in meiosis.     

Mouse TEX15 is essential for DNA double-strand break repair and chromosomal synapsis during male meiosis

During meiosis, homologous chromosomes undergo synapsis and recombination. We identify TEX15 as a novel protein that is required for chromosomal synapsis and meiotic recombination. Loss of TEX15 function in mice causes early meiotic arrest in males but not in females. Specifically, TEX15-deficient spermatocytes exhibit a failure in chromosomal synapsis. In mutant spermatocytes, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are formed, but localization of the recombination proteins RAD51 and DMC1 to meiotic chromosomes is severely impaired. Based on these data, we propose that TEX15 regulates the loading of DNA repair proteins onto sites of DSBs and, thus, its absence causes a failure in meiotic recombination.     

Effects of XRCC2 and RAD51B mutations on somatic and meiotic recombination in Arabidopsis thaliana

Homologous recombination is key to the maintenance of genome integrity and the creation of genetic diversity. At the mechanistic level, recombination involves the invasion of a homologous DNA template by broken DNA ends, repair of the break and exchange of genetic information between the two DNA molecules. Invasion of the template in eukaryotic cells is catalysed by the RAD51 and DMC1 recombinases, assisted by a number of accessory proteins, including the RAD51 paralogues. Eukaryotic genomes encode a variable number of RAD51 paralogues, ranging from two in yeast to five in animals and plants. The RAD51 paralogues form at least two distinct protein complexes, believed to play roles in the assembly and stabilization of the RAD51‐DNA nucleofilament. Somatic recombination assays and immunocytology confirm that the three ‘non‐meiotic’ paralogues of Arabidopsis, RAD51B, RAD51D and XRCC2, are involved in somatic homologous recombination, and that they are not required for the formation of radioinduced RAD51 foci. Given the presence of all five proteins in meiotic cells, the apparent absence of a meiotic role for RAD51B, RAD51D and XRCC2 is surprising, and perhaps simply the result of a more subtle meiotic phenotype in the mutants. Analysis of meiotic recombination confirms this, showing that the absence of XRCC2, and to a lesser extent RAD51B, but not RAD51D, increases rates of meiotic crossing over. The roles of RAD51B and XRCC2 in recombination are thus not limited to mitotic cells.     

Sufficient Amounts of Functional HOP2/MND1 Complex Promote Interhomolog DNA Repair but Are Dispensable for Intersister DNA Repair during Meiosis in Arabidopsis

During meiosis, homologous recombination (HR) is essential to repair programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), and a dedicated protein machinery ensures that the homologous chromosome is favored over the nearby sister chromatid as a repair template. The HOMOLOGOUS-PAIRING PROTEIN2/MEIOTIC NUCLEAR DIVISION PROTEIN1 (HOP2/MND1) protein complex has been identified as a crucial factor of meiotic HR in Arabidopsis thaliana, since loss of either MND1 or HOP2 results in failure of DNA repair. We isolated two mutant alleles of HOP2 (hop2-2 and hop2-3) that retained the capacity to repair meiotic DSBs via the sister chromatid but failed to use the homologous chromosome. We show that in these alleles, the recombinases RADIATION SENSITIVE51 (RAD51) and DISRUPTED MEIOTIC cDNA1 (DMC1) are loaded, but only the intersister DNA repair pathway is activated. The hop2-2 phenotype is correlated with a decrease in HOP2/MND1 complex abundance. In hop2-3, a truncated HOP2 protein is produced that retains its ability to bind to DMC1 and DNA but forms less stable complexes with MND1 and fails to efficiently stimulate DMC1-driven D-loop formation. Genetic analyses demonstrated that in the absence of DMC1, HOP2/MND1 is dispensable for RAD51-mediated intersister DNA repair, while in the presence of DMC1, a minimal amount of functional HOP2/MND1 is essential to drive intersister DNA repair.     

Homologous recombinational repair proteins in mouse meiosis

Eukaryotic meiotic recombination requires numerous biochemical processes, including break initiation, end resection, strand invasion and heteroduplex formation, and, finally, crossover resolution. In this review, we discuss primarily those proteins involved in the initial stages of homologous recombination, including SPO11, MRE11, RAD50, NBS1, DMC1, RAD51, RAD51 paralogs, RAD52, RPA, RAD54, and RAD54B. Focusing on the mouse as a model organism, we discuss what is known about the conserved roles of these proteins in vertebrate somatic cells and in mammalian meiosis. We consider such information as gene expression in gonadal tissue, protein localization patterns on chromosomal cores in meiocyte nuclei, and information gleaned from mouse models.     

An essential role of DmRad51/SpnA in DNA repair and meiotic checkpoint control

Rad51 is a conserved protein essential for recombinational repair of double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) in somatic cells and during meiosis in germ cells. Yeast Rad51 mutants are viable but show meiosis defects. In the mouse, RAD51 deletions cause early embryonic death, suggesting that in higher eukaryotes Rad51 is required for viability. Here we report the identification of SpnA as the Drosophila Rad51 gene, whose sequence among the five known Drosophila Rad51-like genes is most closely related to the Rad51 homologs of human and yeast. DmRad51/spnA null mutants are viable but oogenesis is disrupted by the activation of a meiotic recombination checkpoint. We show that the meiotic phenotypes result from an inability to effectively repair DSBs. Our study further demonstrates that in Drosophila the Rad51-dependent homologous recombination pathway is not essential for DNA repair in the soma, unless exposed to DNA damaging agents. We therefore propose that under normal conditions a second, Rad51-independent, repair pathway prevents the lethal effects of DNA damage.     

Double-stranded DNA breaks and gene functions in recombination and meiosis

Meiotic prophase I is a long and complex phase. Homologous recombination is an important process that occurs between homologous chromosomes during meiotic prophase I. Formation of chiasmata, which hold homologous chromosomes together until the metaphase I to anaphase I transition, is critical for proper chromosome segregation. Recent studies have suggested that the SPO 11 proteins have conserved functions in a number of organisms in generating sites of double-stranded DNA breaks （DSBs） that are thought to be the starting points of homologous recombination. Processing of these sites of DSBs requires the function of RecA homologs, such as RAD5 1, DMC 1, and others, as suggested by mutant studies; thus the failure to repair these meiotic DSBs results in abnormal chromosomal alternations, leading to disrupted meiosis. Recent discoveries on the functions of these RecA homologs have improved the understanding of the mechanisms underlying meiotic homologous recombination.     

The AtRAD51C gene is required for normal meiotic chromosome synapsis and double-stranded break repair in Arabidopsis

Meiotic prophase I is a complex process involving homologous chromosome (homolog) pairing, synapsis, and recombination. The budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) RAD51 gene is known to be important for recombination and DNA repair in the mitotic cell cycle. In addition, RAD51 is required for meiosis and its Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) ortholog is important for normal meiotic homolog pairing, synapsis, and repair of double-stranded breaks. In vertebrate cell cultures, the RAD51 paralog RAD51C is also important for mitotic homologous recombination and maintenance of genome integrity. However, the function of RAD51C in meiosis is not well understood. Here we describe the identification and analysis of a mutation in the Arabidopsis RAD51C ortholog, AtRAD51C. Although the atrad51c-1 mutant has normal vegetative and flower development and has no detectable abnormality in mitosis, it is completely male and female sterile. During early meiosis, homologous chromosomes in atrad51c-1 fail to undergo synapsis and become severely fragmented. In addition, analysis of the atrad51c-1 atspo11-1 double mutant showed that fragmentation was nearly completely suppressed by the atspo11-1 mutation, indicating that the fragmentation largely represents a defect in processing double-stranded breaks generated by AtSPO11-1. Fluorescence in situ hybridization experiments suggest that homolog juxtaposition might also be abnormal in atrad51c-1 meiocytes. These results demonstrate that AtRAD51C is essential for normal meiosis and is probably required for homologous synapsis.     

Arabidopsis RAD51C gene is important for homologous recombination in meiosis and mitosis

Rad51 is a homolog of the bacterial RecA recombinase, and a key factor in homologous recombination in eukaryotes. Rad51 paralogs have been identified from yeast to vertebrates. Rad51 paralogs are thought to play an important role in the assembly or stabilization of Rad51 that promotes homologous pairing and strand exchange reactions. We previously characterized two RAD51 paralogous genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) named AtRAD51C and AtXRCC3, which are homologs of human RAD51C and XRCC3, respectively, and described the interaction of their products in a yeast two-hybrid system. Recent studies showed the involvement of AtXrcc3 in DNA repair and functional role in meiosis. To determine the role of RAD51C in meiotic and mitotic recombination in higher plants, we characterized a T-DNA insertion mutant of AtRAD51C. Although the atrad51C mutant grew normally during vegetative developmental stage, the mutant produced aborted siliques, and their anthers did not contain mature pollen grains. Crossing of the mutant with wild-type plants showed defective male and female gametogeneses as evidenced by lack of seed production. Furthermore, meiosis was severely disturbed in the mutant. The atrad51C mutant also showed increased sensitivity to gamma-irradiation and cisplatin, which are known to induce double-strand DNA breaks. The efficiency of homologous recombination in somatic cells in the mutant was markedly reduced relative to that in wild-type plants.     

RAD51 supports DMC1 by inhibiting the SMC5/6 complex during meiosis

Meiosis is a fundamental process for sexual reproduction in most eukaryotes and the evolutionarily conserved recombinases RADiation sensitive51 (RAD51) and Disrupted Meiotic cDNA1 (DMC1) are essential for meiosis and thus fertility. The mitotic function of RAD51 is clear, but the meiotic function of RAD51 remains largely unknown. Here we show that RAD51 functions as an interacting protein to restrain the Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes5/6 (SMC5/6) complex from inhibiting DMC1. We unexpectedly found that loss of the SMC5/6 partially suppresses the rad51 knockout mutant in terms of sterility, pollen inviability, and meiotic chromosome fragmentation in a DMC1-dependent manner in Arabidopsis thaliana. Biochemical and cytological studies revealed that the DMC1 localization in meiotic chromosomes is inhibited by the SMC5/6 complex, which is attenuated by RAD51 through physical interactions. This study not only identified the long-sought-after function of RAD51 in meiosis but also discovered the inhibition of SMC5/6 on DMC1 as a control mechanism during meiotic recombination.

RAD51 functions as an interacting protein to restrain the SMC5/6 complex from inhibiting DMC1 during meiosis.     

The Rad51 paralog Rad51B promotes homologous recombinational repair

The highly conserved Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rad51 protein plays a central role in both mitotic and meiotic homologous DNA recombination. Seven members of the Rad51 family have been identified in vertebrate cells, including Rad51, Dmc1, and five Rad51-related proteins referred to as Rad51 paralogs, which share 20 to 30% sequence identity with Rad51. In chicken B lymphocyte DT40 cells, we generated a mutant with RAD51B/RAD51L1, a member of the Rad51 family, knocked out. RAD51B(-/-) cells are viable, although spontaneous chromosomal aberrations kill about 20% of the cells in each cell cycle. Rad51B deficiency impairs homologous recombinational repair (HRR), as measured by targeted integration, sister chromatid exchange, and intragenic recombination at the immunoglobulin locus. RAD51B(-/-) cells are quite sensitive to the cross-linking agents cisplatin and mitomycin C and mildly sensitive to gamma-rays. The formation of damage-induced Rad51 nuclear foci is much reduced in RAD51B(-/-) cells, suggesting that Rad51B promotes the assembly of Rad51 nucleoprotein filaments during HRR. These findings show that Rad51B is important for repairing various types of DNA lesions and maintaining chromosome integrity.     

Synaptonemal complex assembly in C. elegans is dispensable for loading strand-exchange proteins but critical for proper completion of recombination

Here we probe the relationships between assembly of the synaptonemal complex (SC) and progression of recombination between homologous chromosomes during Caenorhabditis elegans meiosis. We identify SYP-2 as a structural component of the SC central region and show that central region assembly depends on proper morphogenesis of chromosome axes. We find that the SC central region is dispensable for initiation of recombination and for loading of DNA strand-exchange protein RAD-51, despite the fact that extensive RAD-51 loading normally occurs in the context of assembled SC. Further, persistence of RAD-51 foci and absence of crossover products in meiotic mutants suggests that SC central region components and recombination proteins MSH-4 and MSH-5 are required to promote conversion of resected double-strand breaks into stable post-strand exchange intermediates. Our data also suggest that early prophase barriers to utilization of sister chromatids as repair templates do not depend on central region assembly.     

Differing requirements for RAD51 and DMC1 in meiotic pairing of centromeres and chromosome arms in Arabidopsis thaliana

During meiosis homologous chromosomes pair, recombine, and synapse, thus ensuring accurate chromosome segregation and the halving of ploidy necessary for gametogenesis. The processes permitting a chromosome to pair only with its homologue are not fully understood, but successful pairing of homologous chromosomes is tightly linked to recombination. In Arabidopsis thaliana, meiotic prophase of rad51, xrcc3, and rad51C mutants appears normal up to the zygotene/pachytene stage, after which the genome fragments, leading to sterility. To better understand the relationship between recombination and chromosome pairing, we have analysed meiotic chromosome pairing in these and in dmc1 mutant lines. Our data show a differing requirement for these proteins in pairing of centromeric regions and chromosome arms. No homologous pairing of mid-arm or distal regions was observed in rad51, xrcc3, and rad51C mutants. However, homologous centromeres do pair in these mutants and we show that this does depend upon recombination, principally on DMC1. This centromere pairing extends well beyond the heterochromatic centromere region and, surprisingly, does not require XRCC3 and RAD51C. In addition to clarifying and bringing the roles of centromeres in meiotic synapsis to the fore, this analysis thus separates the roles in meiotic synapsis of DMC1 and RAD51 and the meiotic RAD51 paralogs, XRCC3 and RAD51C, with respect to different chromosome domains.     

PLK1 depletion alters homologous recombination and synaptonemal complex disassembly events during mammalian spermatogenesis

Homologous recombination (HR) is an essential meiotic process that contributes to the genetic variation of offspring and ensures accurate chromosome segregation. Recombination is facilitated by the formation and repair of programmed DNA double-strand breaks. These DNA breaks are repaired via recombination between maternal and paternal homologous chromosomes and a subset result in the formation of crossovers. HR and crossover formation is facilitated by synapsis of homologous chromosomes by a proteinaceous scaffold structure known as the synaptonemal complex (SC). Recent studies in yeast and worms have indicated that polo-like kinases (PLKs) regulate several events during meiosis, including DNA recombination and SC dynamics. Mammals express four active PLKs (PLK1–4), and our previous work assessing localization and kinase function in mouse spermatocytes suggested that PLK1 coordinates nuclear events during meiotic prophase. Therefore, we conditionally mutated Plk1 in early prophase spermatocytes and assessed stages of HR, crossover formation, and SC processes. Plk1 mutation resulted in increased RPA foci and reduced RAD51/DMC1 foci during zygonema, and an increase of both class I and class II crossover events. Furthermore, the disassembly of SC lateral elements was aberrant. Our results highlight the importance of PLK1 in regulating HR and SC disassembly during spermatogenesis.     

RAD51-associated protein 1 (RAD51AP1) interacts with the meiotic recombinase DMC1 through a conserved motif

Homologous recombination (HR) reactions mediated by the RAD51 recombinase are essential for DNA and replication fork repair, genome stability, and tumor suppression. RAD51-associated protein 1 (RAD51AP1) is an important HR factor that associates with and stimulates the recombinase activity of RAD51. We have recently shown that RAD51AP1 also partners with the meiotic recombinase DMC1, displaying isoform-specific interactions with DMC1. Here, we have characterized the DMC1 interaction site in RAD51AP1 by a series of truncations and point mutations to uncover a highly conserved WVPP motif critical for DMC1 interaction but dispensable for RAD51 association. This RAD51AP1 motif is reminiscent of the FVPP motif in the tumor suppressor protein BRCA2 that mediates DMC1 interaction. These results further implicate RAD51AP1 in meiotic HR via RAD51 and DMC1.