OsSHOC1 is dispensable for homologous pairing and SC formation in rice. A, Bouquet formation and homologous pairing analysis in the wild type and the osshoc1-2 mutant. Telomere-specific probes (green) were used to check telomere clustering in wild-type (a) and osshoc1-2 (d) male meiocytes. Homologous pairing was revealed by 5S rDNA probe (yellow arrows) and CentO probe (red) on wild-type (b and c) and osshoc1-2 (e and f) chromosomes, respectively. Meiotic chromosomes are indicated by DAPI staining (blue). Bars = 5 μm. B, Synaptonemal complex assembly in the wild type and osshoc1-2. Dual immunolocalization of REC8 (green) with PAIR2, PAIR3, and ZEP1 proteins (magenta) in wild-type (g–i) and osshoc1-2 (j–l) pachytene meiocytes respectively. Bars = 2 μm.