Synaptonemal complex morphogenesis and sister-chromatid cohesion require Mek1-dependent phosphorylation of a meiotic chromosomal protein
Abstract
Development of yeast meiotic chromosome cores into full-length synaptonemal complexes requires the MEK1 gene product, a meiosis-specific protein kinase homolog. The Mek1 protein associates with meiotic chromosomes and colocalizes with the Red1 protein, which is a component of meiotic chromosome cores. Mek1 and Red1 interact physically in meiotic cells, as demonstrated by coimmunoprecipitation and the two-hybrid protein system. Hop1, another protein associated with meiotic chromosome cores, also interacts with Mek1 but only in the presence of Red1. Red1 displays Mek1-dependent phosphorylation, both in vitro and in vivo, and Mek1 kinase activity is necessary for Mek1 function in vivo. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis indicates that Mek1-mediated phosphorylation of Red1 is required for meiotic sister-chromatid cohesion, raising the possibility that cohesion is regulated by protein phosphorylation.
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Footnotes
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↵4 Corresponding author.
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E-MAIL shirleen.roeder{at}yale.edu; FAX (203) 432-3263.
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- Received June 30, 1998.
- Accepted September 23, 1998.
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press