Chip-Seq profiles of Hop1 and Red1 in budding yeast. Hop1 and Red1 chip

Meiosis is a specialized cell division in eukaryotic sexual reproduction. During this process, diploid germ cells divide and half their genome content to produce haploid gametes. To accomplish this feat, meiosis involves a single round of DNA replication, followed by two rounds of chromosome segregation. In most eukaryotes, the connections between homologs are established by the formation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and these are subsequently repaired by interhomolog recombination, leading to reciprocal exchanges between homologues called crossovers (CO) (Gerton & Hawley 2005). Crossovers in conjunction with sister-chromatid cohesion results in structures called chiasmata that tether homolog pairs and thereby facilitate their stable orientation on the spindle, giving rise to accurate segregation of homologues in the gametes. The execution of recombination requires coordinated chromosome organization and this is achieved by formation of the chromosome axes. These axes allow alignment of chromosome pairs and stabilize subsequent formation of synaptonemal complex (SC). Therefore axis assembly is essential for homologous pairing and synapsis, and the spatial organization of the axes elements remain unclear. In this study, we used Chip-Seq profiling to establish the genomic location of different chromosome axis proteins and also their interactions with different meiotic genes.