Prdm9 controls activation of mammalian recombination hotspots.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2010
Keywords
Amino-Acid-Sequence, Animals, Chromosome-Mapping, Histone-Lysine-N-Methyltransferase, Meiosis, Mice-Inbred-C57BL, Molecular-Sequence-Data, Recombination-Genetic, Sequence-Analysis-DNA, Testis, Zinc-Fingers
First Page
835
Last Page
835
JAX Source
Science 2010; 327(5967):835.
Abstract
Mammalian meiotic recombination, which preferentially occurs at specialized sites called hotspots, ensures the orderly segregation of meiotic chromosomes and creates genetic variation among offspring. A locus on mouse chromosome 17, which controls activation of recombination at multiple distant hotspots, has been mapped within a 181-kilobase interval, three of whose genes can be eliminated as candidates. The remaining gene, Prdm9, codes for a zinc finger containing histone H3K4 trimethylase that is expressed in early meiosis and whose deficiency results in sterility in both sexes. Mus musculus exhibits five alleles of Prdm9; human populations exhibit two predominant alleles and multiple minor alleles. The identification of Prdm9 as a protein regulating mammalian recombination hotspots initiates molecular studies of this important biological control system.
Recommended Citation
Parvanov ED,
Petkov PM,
Paigen K.
Prdm9 controls activation of mammalian recombination hotspots. Science 2010; 327(5967):835.