Beyond tradition: exploring the non-canonical functions of telomeres in meiosis

Alfonso Fernández-Álvarez

doi:10.3389/fcell.2023.1278571

Beyond tradition: exploring the non-canonical functions of telomeres in meiosis

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 Nov 13:11:1278571. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1278571. eCollection 2023.

Author

Alfonso Fernández-Álvarez¹

Affiliation

¹ Institute of Functional Biology and Genomics (IBFG), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.

Abstract

The telomere bouquet is a specific chromosomal configuration that forms during meiosis at the zygotene stage, when telomeres cluster together at the nuclear envelope. This clustering allows cytoskeleton-induced movements to be transmitted to the chromosomes, thereby facilitating homologous chromosome search and pairing. However, loss of the bouquet results in more severe meiotic defects than can be attributed solely to recombination problems, suggesting that the bouquet's full function remains elusive. Despite its transient nature and the challenges in performing in vivo analyses, information is emerging that points to a remarkable suite of non-canonical functions carried out by the bouquet. Here, we describe how new approaches in quantitative cell biology can contribute to establishing the molecular basis of the full function and plasticity of the bouquet, and thus generate a comprehensive picture of the telomeric control of meiosis.

Keywords: bouquet; centromere; chromosome dynamics; gametogenesis; meiosis; telomeres; yeast.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by PID 2021-127232NB-I00 funded by the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the “FEDER, Una manera de hacer Europa”, awarded to AF-Á. The Institute of Functional Biology and Genomics (IBFG) has received funding through the program “Escalera de Excelencia” of the Regional Government of Castile and Leon (ref.: CLU-2017-03) and co-financed by the P.O. FEDER of Castilla and León 14–20, and the Internationalization Project “CL-EI-2021-08-IBFG Unit of Excellence” of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), funded by the Regional Government of Castile and Leon and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF Europe drives our growth).