"Meiosis Mystery Solved: Mutation Unlocks Century-Old Enigma"
A research team at POSTECH has uncovered the molecular mechanism responsible for crossover interference during meiosis, a biological pattern at the chromosome level, by identifying a mutant named hcr3 (high crossover rate3) that exhibited an increased crossover rate at the genomic level in Arabidopsis plants. The elevated crossovers in hcr3 were attributed to a point mutation in the J3 gene, which encodes a co-chaperone related to HSP40 protein, demonstrating that a network involving HCR3/J3/HSP40 co-chaperone and the chaperone HSP70 controls crossover interference and localization by facilitating the degradation of the pro-crossover protein, HEI10 ubiquitin E3 ligase. This research has significant implications in breeding and agriculture, potentially enabling the rapid accumulation of beneficial traits and contributing to the breeding of new varieties and identification of useful natural variations responsible for desirable traits.