Meiotic recombination and the crossover assurance checkpoint in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

During meiotic prophase, chromosomes pair and synapse with their homologs and undergo programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation to initiate meiotic recombination. These DSBs are processed to generate a limited number of crossover recombination products on each chromosome, which are essential to ensure faithful segregation of homologous chromosomes. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has served as an excellent model organism to investigate the mechanisms that drive and coordinate these chromosome dynamics during meiosis. Here we focus on our current understanding of the regulation of DSB induction in C. elegans. We also review evidence that feedback regulation of crossover formation prolongs the early stages of meiotic prophase, and discuss evidence that this can alter the recombination pattern, most likely by shifting the genome-wide distribution of DSBs.

Keywords: Cell cycle; Chromatin; Chromosome structure; Double-strand breaks; Feedback control; Meiosis; Recombination.