A means to the ends - analysis of telomere function and dynamics in plant meiosis

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Chromosome recombination and their assortment during meiosis are key mechanisms for generating genetic diversity in eukaryotic organisms. Faithfull segregation of homologous chromosomes requires their pairing and synapsis in meiotic prophase I. Work mostly from animals and yeast has indicated that telomeres play an important role for the elaborated chromosome behavior in meiosis. Telomeres form a so-called telomere bouquet and were shown to drive rapid chromosome movements that facilitate pairing. However, given the diversity of telomeres, the knowledge from animals and yeast cannot simply be translated into other species and we only know very little about the molecular underpinnings of chromosome choreography and in particular the role of telomeres in plants. This lack of knowledge also limits biotechnological applications, e.g. the control of pairing and hence introgression of alleles from wild relatives of currently used breeding lines as well as the generation of new polyploid crops. Here, we will take advantage of our combined expertise in telomere biology and live cell imaging of meiosis to generate markers for in vivo labeling of telomeres and use them to perform detailed spatiotemporal analyses of telomere dynamics and chromosome movements in Arabidopsis thaliana. We will further functionally assess the role of telomeres in meiosis by using a unique line that harbors extremely short telomeres. Complementing these approaches, we will identify components of the plant shelterin complex, which will pave way for future deciphering of the molecular machinery underlying chromosome pairing in plants.