PMID- 21477316
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
DCOM- 20110714
LR  - 20240317
IS  - 1755-8166 (Electronic)
IS  - 1755-8166 (Linking)
VI  - 4
DP  - 2011 Apr 8
TI  - On the origin of crossover interference: A chromosome oscillatory movement (COM) 
      model.
PG  - 10
LID - 10.1186/1755-8166-4-10 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: It is now nearly a century since it was first discovered that 
      crossovers between homologous parental chromosomes, originating at the Prophase 
      stage of Meiosis I, are not randomly placed. In fact, the number and distribution 
      of crossovers are strictly regulated with crossovers/chiasmata formed in optimal 
      positions along the length of individual chromosomes, facilitating regular 
      chromosome segregation at the first meiotic division. In spite of much research 
      addressing this question, the underlying mechanism(s) for the phenomenon called 
      crossover/chiasma interference is/are still unknown; and this constitutes an 
      outstanding biological enigma. RESULTS: The Chromosome Oscillatory Movement (COM) 
      model for crossover/chiasma interference implies that, during Prophase of Meiosis 
      I, oscillatory movements of the telomeres (attached to the nuclear membrane) and 
      the kinetochores (within the centromeres) create waves along the length of 
      chromosome pairs (bivalents) so that crossing-over and chiasma formation is 
      facilitated by the proximity of parental homologs induced at the nodal regions of 
      the waves thus created. This model adequately explains the salient features of 
      crossover/chiasma interference, where (1) there is normally at least one 
      crossover/chiasma per bivalent, (2) the number is correlated to bivalent length, 
      (3) the positions are dependent on the number per bivalent, (4) interference 
      distances are on average longer over the centromere than along chromosome arms, 
      and (5) there are significant changes in carriers of structural chromosome 
      rearrangements. CONCLUSIONS: The crossover/chiasma frequency distribution in 
      humans and mice with normal karyotypes as well as in carriers of structural 
      chromosome rearrangements are those expected on the COM model. Further studies 
      are underway to analyze mechanical/mathematical aspects of this model for the 
      origin of crossover/chiasma interference, using string replicas of the homologous 
      chromosomes at the Prophase stage of Meiosis I. The parameters to vary in this 
      type of experiment will include: (1) the mitotic karyotype, i.e. ranked length 
      and centromere index of the chromosomes involved, (2) the specific 
      bivalent/multivalent length and flexibility, dependent on the way this structure 
      is positioned within the nucleus and the size of the respective meiocyte nuclei, 
      (3) the frequency characteristics of the oscillatory movements at respectively 
      the telomeres and the kinetochores.
FAU - Hulten, Maj A
AU  - Hulten MA
AD  - Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery and Center for Molecular Medicine, 
      CMM L8:02, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, S-17 1 
      76 Stockholm, Sweden. maj.hulten@warwick.ac.uk.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20110408
PL  - England
TA  - Mol Cytogenet
JT  - Molecular cytogenetics
JID - 101317942
PMC - PMC3103480
EDAT- 2011/04/12 06:00
MHDA- 2011/04/12 06:01
PMCR- 2011/04/08
CRDT- 2011/04/12 06:00
PHST- 2011/02/08 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2011/04/08 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2011/04/12 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2011/04/12 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2011/04/12 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2011/04/08 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 1755-8166-4-10 [pii]
AID - 10.1186/1755-8166-4-10 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Mol Cytogenet. 2011 Apr 8;4:10. doi: 10.1186/1755-8166-4-10.