Bisection of the X chromosome disrupts the initiation of chromosome silencing during meiosis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Yisrael Rappaport, Hanna Achache, Roni Falk, Omer Murik, Oren Ram and Yonatan B. Tzur ()
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Yisrael Rappaport: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hanna Achache: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Roni Falk: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Omer Murik: Shaare Zedek Medical Center
Oren Ram: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Yonatan B. Tzur: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract During meiosis, gene expression is silenced in aberrantly unsynapsed chromatin and in heterogametic sex chromosomes. Initiation of sex chromosome silencing is disrupted in meiocytes with sex chromosome-autosome translocations. To determine whether this is due to aberrant synapsis or loss of continuity of sex chromosomes, we engineered Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes with non-translocated, bisected X chromosomes. In early meiocytes of mutant males and hermaphrodites, X segments are enriched with euchromatin assembly markers and active RNA polymerase II staining, indicating active transcription. Analysis of RNA-seq data showed that genes from the X chromosome are upregulated in gonads of mutant worms. Contrary to previous models, which predicted that any unsynapsed chromatin is silenced during meiosis, our data indicate that unsynapsed X segments are transcribed. Therefore, our results suggest that sex chromosome chromatin has a unique character that facilitates its meiotic expression when its continuity is lost, regardless of whether or not it is synapsed.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24815-0

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