Long-range effects of centromeres on the binding of the meiotic chromosome axis factor Red1

A chromosome size-dependent bias in meiotic recombination is in place to ensure that homologous chromosome pairing occurs for all chromosomes, including the smallest ones. This bias is clearly detectable during the assembly of the meiotic protein axis, the structure that compacts meiotic chromosomes and promotes recombination. To investigate the origin of the size bias, we mapped genome-wide occupancy of the meiotic axis protein Red1 in yeast strains containing chromosome fusions. To allow optimal normalization, the experiments were performed in hybrid S288C/SK1 strains with fused S288C chromosomes normalized to native SK1 chromosomes in the same cells.