Skip to main content
Genetics logoLink to Genetics
. 1989 Apr;121(4):723–737. doi: 10.1093/genetics/121.4.723

Recombination between Small X Chromosome Duplications and the X Chromosome in Caenorhabditis Elegans

R K Herman 1, C K Kari 1
PMCID: PMC1203656  PMID: 2721932

Abstract

Twelve new X chromosome duplications were identified and characterized. Eight are translocated to autosomal sites near four different telomeres, and four are free. Ten include unc-1(+), which in wild type is near the left end of the X chromosome, and two of these, mnDp72(X;IV) and mnDp73(X;f), extend rightward past dpy-3. Both mnDp72 and mnDp73 recombined with the one X chromosome in males in the unc-1-dpy-3 interval at a frequency 15- to 30-fold higher than was observed for X-X recombination in hermaphrodites in the same interval. Recombinant duplications and recombinant X chromosomes were both recovered. Recombination with the X chromosome in the unc-1-dpy-3 interval was also detected for five other unc-1(+) duplications, even though their right breakpoints lie within the interval. In hermaphrodites, mnDp72 and mnDp73 promoted meiotic X nondisjunction and recombined with an X chromosome in the unc-1-dpy-3 interval at frequencies comparable to that found for X-X recombination; mnDp72(X;IV) also promoted trisomy for chromosome IV. A mutation in him-8 IV was identified that severely reduced recombination between the two X chromosomes in hermaphrodites and between mnDp73 and the X chromosome in males. Recombination between the X chromosome and duplications of either the right end of the X or a region near but not including the left end was rare. We suggest that the X chromosome has one or more elements near its left end that promote meiotic chromosome pairing.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (3.0 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Albertson D. G. Localization of the ribosomal genes in Caenorhabditis elegans chromosomes by in situ hybridization using biotin-labeled probes. EMBO J. 1984 Jun;3(6):1227–1234. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1984.tb01957.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Albertson D. G., Thomson J. N. The kinetochores of Caenorhabditis elegans. Chromosoma. 1982;86(3):409–428. doi: 10.1007/BF00292267. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Anderson P., Brenner S. A selection for myosin heavy chain mutants in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Jul;81(14):4470–4474. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.14.4470. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. DeLong L., Casson L. P., Meyer B. J. Assessment of X chromosome dosage compensation in Caenorhabditis elegans by phenotypic analysis of lin-14. Genetics. 1987 Dec;117(4):657–670. doi: 10.1093/genetics/117.4.657. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fire A. Integrative transformation of Caenorhabditis elegans. EMBO J. 1986 Oct;5(10):2673–2680. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1986.tb04550.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Greenwald I. S., Horvitz H. R. unc-93(e1500): A behavioral mutant of Caenorhabditis elegans that defines a gene with a wild-type null phenotype. Genetics. 1980 Sep;96(1):147–164. doi: 10.1093/genetics/96.1.147. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hedgecock E. M., Culotti J. G., Thomson J. N., Perkins L. A. Axonal guidance mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans identified by filling sensory neurons with fluorescein dyes. Dev Biol. 1985 Sep;111(1):158–170. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(85)90443-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Herman R. K., Albertson D. G., Brenner S. Chromosome rearrangements in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1976 May;83(1):91–105. doi: 10.1093/genetics/83.1.91. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Herman R. K. Crossover suppressors and balanced recessive lethals in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1978 Jan;88(1):49–65. doi: 10.1093/genetics/88.1.49. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Herman R. K., Kari C. K., Hartman P. S. Dominant X-chromosome nondisjunction mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1982 Nov;102(3):379–400. doi: 10.1093/genetics/102.3.379. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Herman R. K., Madl J. E., Kari C. K. Duplications in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1979 Jun;92(2):419–435. doi: 10.1093/genetics/92.2.419. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hodgkin J., Horvitz H. R., Brenner S. Nondisjunction Mutants of the Nematode CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS. Genetics. 1979 Jan;91(1):67–94. doi: 10.1093/genetics/91.1.67. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Horvitz H. R., Brenner S., Hodgkin J., Herman R. K. A uniform genetic nomenclature for the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Mol Gen Genet. 1979 Sep;175(2):129–133. doi: 10.1007/BF00425528. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Johnson C. D., Duckett J. G., Culotti J. G., Herman R. K., Meneely P. M., Russell R. L. An acetylcholinesterase-deficient mutant of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1981 Feb;97(2):261–279. doi: 10.1093/genetics/97.2.261. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kemphues K. J., Kusch M., Wolf N. Maternal-effect lethal mutations on linkage group II of Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1988 Dec;120(4):977–986. doi: 10.1093/genetics/120.4.977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Meneely P. M., Herman R. K. Suppression and function of X-linked lethal and sterile mutations in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1981 Jan;97(1):65–84. doi: 10.1093/genetics/97.1.65. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Meneely P. M., Nordstrom K. D. X chromosome duplications affect a region of the chromosome they do not duplicate in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1988 Jun;119(2):365–375. doi: 10.1093/genetics/119.2.365. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Meneely P. M., Wood W. B. An autosomal gene that affects X chromosome expression and sex determination in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1984 Jan;106(1):29–44. doi: 10.1093/genetics/106.1.29. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Meneely P. M., Wood W. B. Genetic analysis of X-chromosome dosage compensation in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1987 Sep;117(1):25–41. doi: 10.1093/genetics/117.1.25. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Meyer B. J., Casson L. P. Caenorhabditis elegans compensates for the difference in X chromosome dosage between the sexes by regulating transcript levels. Cell. 1986 Dec 26;47(6):871–881. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90802-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Park E. C., Horvitz H. R. Mutations with dominant effects on the behavior and morphology of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1986 Aug;113(4):821–852. doi: 10.1093/genetics/113.4.821. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Perkins L. A., Hedgecock E. M., Thomson J. N., Culotti J. G. Mutant sensory cilia in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Dev Biol. 1986 Oct;117(2):456–487. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(86)90314-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Rogalski T. M., Riddle D. L. A Caenorhabditis elegans RNA polymerase II gene, ama-1 IV, and nearby essential genes. Genetics. 1988 Jan;118(1):61–74. doi: 10.1093/genetics/118.1.61. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Rose A. M., Baillie D. L., Curran J. Meiotic pairing behavior of two free duplications of linkage group I in Caenorhabditis elegans. Mol Gen Genet. 1984;195(1-2):52–56. doi: 10.1007/BF00332723. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Rosenbluth R. E., Cuddeford C., Baillie D. L. Mutagenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans. II. A spectrum of mutational events induced with 1500 r of gamma-radiation. Genetics. 1985 Mar;109(3):493–511. doi: 10.1093/genetics/109.3.493. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Rothstein R. J. One-step gene disruption in yeast. Methods Enzymol. 1983;101:202–211. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(83)01015-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Sigurdson D. C., Herman R. K., Horton C. A., Kari C. K., Pratt S. E. An X-autosome fusion chromosome of Caenorhabditis elegans. Mol Gen Genet. 1986 Feb;202(2):212–218. doi: 10.1007/BF00331639. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Wood W. B., Meneely P., Schedin P., Donahue L. Aspects of dosage compensation and sex determination in Caenorhabditis elegans. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1985;50:575–583. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1985.050.01.070. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Genetics are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES