The Axial Element Protein DESYNAPTIC2 Mediates Meiotic Double-Strand Break Formation and Synaptonemal Complex Assembly in Maize

A research team led by Dr. Chung-Ju Rachel Wang, Assistant Research Fellow at the IPMB, recently reported the discovery of a protein DSY2 in the major crop maize and revealed its important functions during sexual reproduction. In this study, the team identified a maize protein, DSY2, and revealed that it acts as an important component of meiotic chromosome axes and showed that DSY2 is required for DNA double-strand break formation and synapsis. They further demonstrated that DSY2 serves as a key factor for synaptonemal complex (sc) assembly by interacting with two other components, ZYP1 and ASY1. This study provides novel insight into the role of chromosome axis-associated proteins and reveals the molecular mechanism of SC assembly at the molecular level in plants. This finding enhances the understanding of meiotic recombination during sexual reproduction, and was nominated as “noteworthy maize primary literature” by the US federally-funded informatics database on maize, the MaizeGDB.