Histone removal in sperm protects paternal chromosomes from premature division at fertilization.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37943933.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.adh0037 and PMC identifier 11180706.
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Abstract
The global replacement of histones with protamines in sperm chromatin is widespread in animals, including insects, but its actual function remains enigmatic. We show that in the <i>Drosophila</i> paternal effect mutant <i>paternal loss</i> (<i>pal</i>), sperm chromatin retains germline histones H3 and H4 genome wide without impairing sperm viability. However, after fertilization, <i>pal</i> sperm chromosomes are targeted by the egg chromosomal passenger complex and engage into a catastrophic premature division in synchrony with female meiosis II. We show that <i>pal</i> encodes a rapidly evolving transition protein specifically required for the eviction of (H3-H4)<sub>2</sub> tetramers from spermatid DNA after the removal of H2A-H2B dimers. Our study thus reveals an unsuspected role of histone eviction from insect sperm chromatin: safeguarding the integrity of the male pronucleus during female meiosis.
Medical subject headings
- Chromatin
- Drosophila Proteins
- Fertilization
- Histones
- Spermatozoa
- Drosophila melanogaster
- Amidine-Lyases
- Paternal Inheritance