Genome-wide mapping of meiotic double-strand breaks by sequencing Spo11 oligos.. Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The nonrandom distribution of meiotic recombination shapes patterns of inheritance and genome evolution, but chromosomal features governing this distribution are poorly understood. Formation of the DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) that initiate recombination results in accumulation of Spo11 protein covalently bound to small DNA fragments. We show here that sequencing these fragments provides a genome-wide DSB map of unprecedented resolution and sensitivity. We use this map to explore the influence of large-scale chromosome structures, chromatin, transcription factors, and local sequence composition on DSB distributions. Our analysis supports the view that the recombination terrain is molded by combinatorial and hierarchical interaction of factors that work on widely different size scales. Mechanistic aspects of DSB formation and early processing steps are also uncovered. This map illuminates the occurrence of DSBs in repetitive DNA elements, repair of which can lead to chromosomal rearrangements. We discuss implications for evolutionary dynamics of recombination hotspots. Overall design: We deep sequenced 4 samples of Spo11 oligos on Roche 454 platform. Three samples are technical replicates of Spo11 oligo products prepared from one meiotic culture and the fourth sample was prepared from an independent culture.