Expression data from wild type, mre11delta, rad50delta, and spo11Y135F at meiosis 0 hr and 4 hr.

Mre11, together with Rad50 and Xrs2/NBS, plays pivotal roles in homologous recombination, repair of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), activation of damage-induced checkpoint, and telomere maintenance. Using DNA microarray assays to analyze yeast mutants (mre11delta, rad50delta, and spo11Y135F) defective for meiotic DSB formation, we demonstrate that the absence of Mre11 in yeast causes specific effects on regulation of a class of meiotic genes for spore development. The transcriptional deficiency was not observed in other DSB mutants such as rad50delta and spo11Y135F, suggesting the transcriptional defect in mre11delta is due to neither lack of meiotic DSB formation, nor disintegrity of Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 complex.These defects were confirmed by northern and lacZ reporter gene assays.

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Kugou K, Sasanuma H, Matsumoto K, Shirahige K, Ohta K