Project description:Meiotic crossovers result from homology-directed repair of double strand breaks (DSBs). Unlike yeast and plants, where DSBs are generated near gene promoters, in many vertebrates, DSBs are enriched at hotspots determined by the DNA binding activity of the rapidly evolving zinc finger array of PRDM9 (PR domain zinc finger protein 9), which subsequently catalyzes trimethylation of lysine 4 and lysine 36 of Histone H3 in nearby nucleosomes. Here, we identify the dual histone methylation reader ZCWPW1, which is tightly co-expressed during spermatogenesis with Prdm9 and co-evolved with Prdm9 in vertebrates, as an essential meiotic recombination factor required for efficient synapsis and repair of PRDM9-dependent DSBs. In sum, our results indicate that the evolution of dual histone methylation reader/writer system involving Prdm9 and Zcwpw1 facilitated a shift in genetic recombination away from a static pattern near genes towards a flexible pattern controlled by the rapidly evolving DNA binding activity of PRDM9
Project description:PRDM9 specifies the sites of meiotic DNA double strand break that initiate meiotic recombination in mice and humans. PRDM9 is known to bind to specific DNA sequences with its DNA binding domain, to induce H3K4me3 and H3K36me3 to adjacent nucleosomes through its methyltransferase activity, and to recruit or activate the meiotic DSB machinery. To understand how PRDM9 executes these various steps, we set up to identify its partners. This was performed by a proteomic approach where protein extracts from mouse testis were immunoprecipitated with anti-PRDM9 antibody for mass spectrometry analysis.
Project description:Meiotic recombination is required for the segregation of homologous chromosomes and is essential for fertility. The DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) that initiate meiotic recombination are directed by sequence-specific DNA binding of the PRDM9 protein. Gradual elimination of PRDM9 binding sites by gene conversion is thought to result in the hotspot erosion while mutations affecting DNA binding specificity of PRDM9 will create the new sets of hotspots. To better understand evolutionary turnover of recombination hotspots we mapped DSB hotspots in six inbred mouse strains representing all four major subspecies of Mus musculus and in their F1 hybrids. We found that hotspot erosion governs the preferential usage of some Prdm9 alleles over others in hybrid mice and increases sequence diversity specifically at hotspots that become active in the hybrids. As crossovers are disfavored at such hotspots, we propose that sequence divergence generated by hotspot turnover creates impediments for recombination in hybrids, potentially leading to reduction in fertility and eventually, speciation.
Project description:Mammalian genetic recombination is concentrated at hotspots, specialized 1-2 Kb sites separated by long stretches of DNA lacking recombination. Mammalian hotspot locations depend on PRDM9, a zinc finger protein that binds at hotspots and uses its SET domain to locally trimethylate histone H3K4. Here we find that PRDM9 also locally trimethylates H3K36 at hotspots. Using ChIP-seq and immunoprecipitation data for H3K36me3 in murine spermatocytes, we show that H3K4me3 and H3K36me3 coincide only at hotspots in germ cells, and that this H3K4me3/H3K36me3-double-positive signature is almost entirely dependent on PRDM9. We performed ChIP-seq with an antibody against H3K36me3, using chromatin extracted from murine spermatocytes, and compared it to previously generated ChIP-seq data for H3K4me3 in the same cell type. ---------------------------------- This dataset represents the H3K36 component only
Project description:Vertebrate recombination concentrates in meiotic chromatin regions (hotspots) that are opened in some species by the DNA-sequence-specific-binding histone H3 trimethyltransferase PRDM9, while other species recombine in regions with already opened chromatin and other function. Inactivation of the mouse Prdm9 gene induces the shift of hotspots to functional regions, gross fertility reduction in males, and sterility in females. In contrast, the other vertebrate species lacking PRDM9 remain fertile. To resolve this discrepancy, we generated Prdm9 deletions in the Rattus norvegicus genome and generated the first rat genome-wide maps of recombination-initiating double-strand break hotspots. Rat strains carrying the same wild-type Prdm9 allele shared 88% hotspots but strains with different Prdm9 alleles only 3%. After Prdm9 deletion, rat hotspots relocated to functional regions, 40% to positions corresponding to Prdm9-independent mouse hotspots. Despite of hotspot relocation and of decreased fertility, Prdm9-deficient rats of the SHR/OlaIpcv strain produced apparently normal offspring. Rat PRDM9 thus makes recombination landscape unique, but it is unnecessary for recombination. This peculiarity is likely similar for human PRDM9 and may resolve the paradox between the apparently species-specific functions. PRDM9 is known to play a role in speciation, as it causes mouse hybrid sterility via meiotic asynapsis. Besides the expected mild meiotic arrest, we also detected apoptosis of postmeiotic spermatids, suggesting that PRDM9 has an additional role during spermatogenesis and perhaps also in speciation.
Project description:In many eukaryotes, meiotic recombination occurs preferentially at discrete sites, called recombination hotspots. In various lineages, recombination hotspots are located in regions with promoter-like features and are evolutionarily stable. Conversely, in some mammals, hotspots are driven by PRDM9 that targets recombination away from promoters. Paradoxically, PRDM9 induces the self-destruction of its targets and this triggers an ultra-fast evolution of mammalian hotspots. PRDM9 is ancestral to all animals, suggesting a critical importance for the meiotic program, but has been lost in many lineages with surprisingly little effect on meiosis success. However, it is unclear whether the function of PRDM9 described in mammals is shared by other species. To investigate this, we analyzed the recombination landscape of several salmonids, the genome of which harbors one full-length PRDM9 and several truncated paralogs. We identified recombination initiation sites in Oncorhynchus mykiss by mapping meiotic DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). We found that DNA DSBs clustered at hotspots positioned away from promoters, enriched for the H3K4me3 and H3K36me3 marks and the location of which depended on the genotype of full-length Prdm9. We observed a high level of polymorphism in the zinc finger domain of full-length Prdm9, indicating diversification driven by positive selection. Moreover, population-scaled recombination maps in O. mykiss, Oncorhynchus kisutch and Salmo salar revealed a rapid turnover of recombination hotspots caused by PRDM9 target motif erosion. Our results imply that PRDM9 function is conserved across vertebrates and that the peculiar evolutionary runaway caused by PRDM9 has been active for several hundred million years.
Project description:Mammalian genetic recombination is concentrated at hotspots, specialized 1-2 Kb sites separated by long stretches of DNA lacking recombination. Mammalian hotspot locations depend on PRDM9, a zinc finger protein that binds at hotspots and uses its SET domain to locally trimethylate histone H3K4. Here we find that PRDM9 also locally trimethylates H3K36 at hotspots. Using ChIP-seq and immunoprecipitation data for H3K36me3 in murine spermatocytes, we show that H3K4me3 and H3K36me3 coincide only at hotspots in germ cells, and that this H3K4me3/H3K36me3-double-positive signature is almost entirely dependent on PRDM9.
Project description:Meiotic recombination is initiated by genome-wide SPO11-induced double-strand breaks (DSBs) that are processed by MRE11-mediated release of SPO11-bound oligonucleotides (SPO11-oligos). The DSB is then resected and loaded with DMC1/RAD51 filaments that invade homologous chromosome templates. In most mammals, DSB locations (“hotspots”) are determined by the DNA sequence specificity of the PRDM9 DNA binding zinc finger array. Here, we demonstrate the first direct detection of meiotic DSBs in vertebrates by performing END-seq on mouse spermatocytes using low sample input. We find that DMC1 limits both the minimum and maximum length of ssDNA produced at all hotspots, whereas 53BP1, BRCA1 and EXO1 play a surprisingly minimal role in meiotic resection. Through enzymatic modifications to the END-seq protocol that mimic the in vivo processing of SPO11, we identify a novel meiotic recombination intermediate (RI) with SPO11 still bound to the 3’ end via a small stretch of dsDNA (“SPO11-RI”) that is dependent on the presence of PRDM9. We propose that SPO11-RI is generated because chromatin-bound PRDM9 blocks MRE11 from releasing SPO11 via 3’-5’ resection. SPO11-RI is present at all hotspots and correlates with the localization and frequency of crossovers and noncrossovers. In Atm–/– spermatocytes, multiple DSBs at the same hotspot reduces SPO11-RI formation, while unresected DNA-bound SPO11 accumulates because of defective MRE11 initiation. Thus in addition to their global roles in governing SPO11 breakage, ATM and PRDM9 are critical local regulators of mammalian SPO11 processing.
Project description:In meiotic cells, chromosomes are organized as chromatin loop arrays anchored to a protein axis. This organization is essential to regulate meiotic recombination, from DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation to their repair. In mammals, it is unknown how chromatin loops are organized along the genome and how proteins participating in DSB formation are tethered to the chromosome axes. Here, we identified three categories of axis-associated genomic sites: PRDM9 binding sites, where DSBs form, binding sites of the insulator protein CTCF, and H3K4me3-enriched sites. We demonstrated that PRDM9 promotes the recruitment of MEI4 and IHO1, two proteins essential for DSB formation. In turn, IHO1 anchors DSB sites to the axis components HORMAD1 and SYCP3. We discovered that IHO1, HORMAD1 and SYCP3 are associated at the DSB ends during DSB repair. Our results highlight how interactions of proteins with specific genomic elements shape the meiotic chromosome organization for recombination.
Project description:PRDM9 is a histone methyltransferase expressed in meiotic germ cells that determines the location of genetic recombination hotspots through binding of its allele-specific DNA binding domain. Here we characterize the genome-wide chromatin modification for two human PRDM9 alleles (A and C) in human cell lines. HEK293 cells were transfected with both alleles and an empty vector control. Resulting chromatin was subjected to H3K4me3 ChIP followed by high-throughput sequencing. We find that different PRDM9 allele largely modified chromatin in entirely different genomic regions in somatic cells determined by the protein's zinc-finger DNA binding domains. Many of the allele-specific peaks overlap sites of meiotic double-strand breaks found in vivo in human germ cells suggesting that transient expression of PRDM9 in somatic cells can reflect binding in vivo. Identify PRDM9-dependent H3K4me3 sites by comparing modified chromatin after expression of different human PRDM9 alleles in HEK293 cells.