Overlapping and separable activities of BRA-2 and HIM-17 promote occurrence and regulation of pairing and synapsis during Caenorhabditis elegans meiosis

Jitka Blazickova, Shalini Trivedi, Richard Bowman, Sowmya Sivakumar Geetha, Silma Subah, Michelle Scuzzarella, Alexander Chang, Uma R. Chandran, Judith L. Yanowitz, Sarit Smolikove, Verena Jantsch, Monique Zetka and Nicola Silva ()
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Jitka Blazickova: Masaryk University
Shalini Trivedi: Masaryk University
Richard Bowman: University of Iowa
Sowmya Sivakumar Geetha: Vienna Biocenter Campus (VBC)
Silma Subah: McGill University
Michelle Scuzzarella: Magee-Womens Research Institute
Alexander Chang: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Uma R. Chandran: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Judith L. Yanowitz: Magee-Womens Research Institute
Sarit Smolikove: University of Iowa
Verena Jantsch: Vienna Biocenter Campus (VBC)
Monique Zetka: McGill University
Nicola Silva: Masaryk University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: Abstract Faithful meiotic segregation requires pairwise alignment of the homologous chromosomes and their synaptonemal complex (SC) mediated stabilization. Here, we investigate factors that promote and coordinate these events during C. elegans meiosis. We identify BRA-2 (BMP Receptor Associated family member 2) as an interactor of HIM-17, previously shown to promote double-strand break formation. We found that loss of bra-2 impairs synapsis elongation without affecting homolog recognition, chromosome movement or SC maintenance. Epistasis analyses reveal previously unrecognized activities for HIM-17 in regulating homolog pairing and SC assembly in a partially overlapping manner with BRA-2. We show that removing bra-2 or him-17 restores nuclear clustering, recruitment of PLK-2 at the nuclear periphery, and abrogation of ectopic synapsis in htp-1 mutants, suggesting intact CHK-2-mediated signaling and presence of a barrier that prevents SC polymerization in the absence of homology. Our findings shed light on the regulatory mechanisms ensuring faithful pairing and synapsis.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57862-y

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