Introduction

Meiosis is a specialized cell cycle in which diploid cells are converted into haploid cells.

During meiosis, diploid cells proceed through an S phase, also called premeiotic S phase, and then enter an extended prophase to reach the first division or meiosis I. The unique mode of chromosome segregation at meiosis I, called reductional segregation, requires the establishment of connections between homologous chromosomes (homologs) to allow their proper alignment and separation (Hunter, 2015). Multiple events occur during prophase I to allow the interaction between homologs and the formation of at least one crossing over (CO) per homolog pair, by homologous recombination. At the DNA level, exchanges are highly regulated in time, space, and choice of recombination partner. The homologous recombination pathway is initiated by the formation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) at the onset of prophase I (i.e., leptotene) in most species, and their repair is completed at the end of pachytene. DSBs are not randomly distributed along the genome, and the choice of the sister chromatid or the homologous chromosome during their repair is regulated. At the chromosomal level, the pairing process allows each homolog to find and interact with its partner, and recombination (i.e., DSB formation and repair) stabilizes the interactions through non-reciprocal and reciprocal exchanges. This process is ensured in parallel for all chromosome pairs within the meiotic nucleus (Zickler and Kleckner, 2015). Cytology was crucial for identifying the connections between homologs that were named chiasma by Janssens in 1909 (Janssens et al., 2012). Since then, a large number of cytological studies have described and analyzed the chromosomal architecture and organization during meiotic prophase I, particularly the specific loop-axis organization of meiotic chromosomes that appears at prophase I onset, after the premeiotic S phase (Zickler and Kleckner, 1999), and the specific anchoring of telomeres to the nuclear envelope (Klutstein and Cooper, 2014). Both features are dynamic during prophase I, and play important roles in recombination and prophase progression, and thus in the proper execution of meiosis I.

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The loop-axis organization can be observed in early prophase I, by electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry in many species, where two adjacent sister chromatids are organized as an array of loops anchored to a proteinaceous axis (Zickler and Kleckner, 1999; Figure 1). Several proteins are part of this axial structure: the cohesin complex(es) (Ishiguro, 2019), type II DNA topoisomerase (TopoII) (Moens and Earnshaw, 1989; Klein et al., 1992), condensins (Yu and Koshland, 2003; Mets and Meyer, 2009; Wood et al., 2010; Lee, 2013), and other proteins that are expressed specifically in meiotic cells (described below).

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This review presents the current knowledge on the organization of meiotic chromosomes at the onset of meiotic prophase when the axial structure, also called the axial element, forms and before it engages into interaction with the homolog where additional structural components come into play for the formation of the synaptonemal complex (Figure 1). We present the associated proteins, how they contribute to this organization, and their roles in the execution of the meiotic recombination program during meiotic prophase.

The first part describes the knowledge gained in Saccharomyces cerevisiae where the identified proteins and functions provide a framework for understanding this organization. Then, it focuses on the main currently known players, the cohesin complex and the axis proteins Hop1 and Red1. This is followed by the second part that presents data obtained in mammals on the proteins that build and organize meiotic chromosomes with a detailed description of the best characterized components: the cohesin complexes and HORMAD1 and SYCP2 (orthologs of S. cerevisiae Hop1 and Red1, respectively). Then, the various identified or postulated functions of these proteins in the initiation of the meiotic recombination program are discussed. Insights gained from other species that provide complementary information from those obtained in yeast and mammals are included, to outline the evolutionary conservation of this functional organization among eukaryotes.

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