326: DUO-1 protects REC-8 cohesin and synaptonemal complex stability in Caenorhabditis elegans meiosis

Strand LG et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A - In C. elegans germline, the deubiquitinase DUO-1 is required for assembly and active maintenance of the synaptonemal complex and REC-8 cohesin, preventing RAD-51 accumulation and ensuring diakinesis compaction. Key terms: DUO-1, Caenorhabditis elegans, synaptonemal complex, REC-8, auxin-inducible degron.

Study Highlights:
Using C. elegans germline as a developmental timecourse model, the authors combined cytological analyses (immunofluorescence, FISH, RAD-51/MSH-5/COSA-1 staining), temporally controlled auxin-inducible degron (AID) depletion, and TurboID proximity labeling with LC–MS to probe DUO-1 function. Loss or acute depletion of DUO-1 impairs SC assembly, leads to progressive axis/SC instability, depletion of REC-8 cohesin from chromosomes, hyperaccumulation of RAD-51-marked early DSB repair intermediates, and premature sister-chromatid separation. TurboID identifies PARG-1 and cohesin/HORMAD components as proximal partners and DUO-1::GFP localizes to nucleoplasm and a subset of chromosome axes, most prominently in late pachytene/early diplotene. Temporal AID experiments show DUO-1 is required continuously for early SC assembly, late-pachytene SC maintenance, and rapid preservation of diakinesis chromosome compaction, implying an active maintenance role for DUO-1 in preserving chromosome architecture during meiotic prophase.

Conclusion:
DUO-1 is continuously required throughout meiotic prophase in C. elegans to promote assembly and maintain stability of chromosome axes and synaptonemal complexes, protect REC-8 cohesin distribution, limit accumulation of early DSB repair intermediates, and ensure late-prophase chromosome compaction.

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Article title:
Active maintenance of meiosis-specific chromosome structures in Caenorhabditis elegans by the deubiquitinase DUO-1

First author:
Strand LG

Journal:
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A

DOI:
10.1073/pnas.2532671123

Reference:
Strand LG, Choi CP, McCoy S, Nsamba ET, Silva N, Villeneuve AM. Active maintenance of meiosis-specific chromosome structures in Caenorhabditis elegans by the deubiquitinase DUO-1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2026;123(12):e2532671123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2532671123

License:
This episode is based on an open-access article published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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QC:
This episode was checked against the original article PDF and publication metadata for the episode release published on 2026-03-25.

QC Scope:
- article metadata and core scientific claims from the narration
- excludes analogies, intro/outro, and music
- transcript coverage: Audited the spoken scientific content reflecting the paper's core findings: DUO-1’s continuous maintenance of meiosis-specific chromosome structures, SC/axis stability, REC-8 cohesin protection, RAD-51 dynamics, AID-time course revealing separable roles, and the DUO-1–PARG-1 interaction revealed by TurboID.
- transcript topics: Meiotic prophase architecture (SC/axis) and DUO-1 roles; Duo-1 mutant phenotypes: SC assembly failure and polycomplexes; REC-8 cohesin distribution and sister chromatid cohesion; RAD-51 dynamics and SPO-11 dependency; COSA-1 foci and recombination intermediates; Auxin-inducible degradation (AID) reveals separable roles in assembly, maintenance, and compaction

QC Summary:
- factual score: 10/10
- metadata score: 10/10
- supported core claims: 8
- claims flagged for review: 0
- metadata checks passed: 4
- metadata issues found: 0

Metadata Audited:
- article_doi
- article_title
- article_journal
- license

Factual Items Audited:
- DUO-1 is continually required throughout meiotic prophase to promote axis/SC assembly, maintain axis/SC stability, and promote/maintain chromosome compaction by the end of prophase
- Duo-1 mutants show impaired SC assembly and polycomplex formation; REC-8 cohesin distribution is lost as SCs disassemble
- RAD-51 foci hyperaccumulate in duo-1 mutants in a SPO-11–dependent manner
- Auxin-inducible degradation (AID) of DUO-1 reveals separable roles in SC assembly (early prophase), maintenance (late pachytene), and chromosomal compaction (diakinesis)
- TurboID proximity labeling identifies DUO-1 near PARG-1 and axis components; PARG-1 localization is impaired in duo-1 mutants but enzymatic activity persists and PAR does not accum
- DUO-1 is a deubiquitinase that protects cohesin/axis components from ubiquitin-mediated turnover

QC result: Pass.