Telomeres, with their special structures and special schemes of synthesis, are essential for protecting the ends of eukaryotic linear chromosomes during cell proliferation. In addition to this basic function, the meiosis-specific functions of telomeres have long been inferred from the cytological observations of characteristic chromosome configurations in meiotic prophase. Recent studies in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe have provided deeper insights into the role of meiotic telomeres in the pairing of homologous chromosomes. Here I have summarized our current understanding of the meiotic behaviour of telomeres in S. pombe, and discuss the role of telomeres in meiosis.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. Bolanos-Villegas, S.-W. Chin, and F.-C. Chen Meiotic Chromosome Behavior and Capsule Setting in Doritaenopsis Hybrids J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci., January 1, 2008; 133(1): 107 - 116. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Y. Lui, T. L. Peoples-Holst, J. Chang Mell, H.-Y. Wu, E. W. Dean, and S. M. Burgess Analysis of Close Stable Homolog Juxtaposition During Meiosis in Mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Genetics, July 1, 2006; 173(3): 1207 - 1222. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H.-Y. Wu and S. M. Burgess Ndj1, a Telomere-Associated Protein, Promotes Meiotic Recombination in Budding Yeast Mol. Cell. Biol., May 15, 2006; 26(10): 3683 - 3694. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. T. Saito, D. Okuzaki, and H. Nojima Mcp5, a meiotic cell cortex protein, is required for nuclear movement mediated by dynein and microtubules in fission yeast J. Cell Biol., April 10, 2006; 173(1): 27 - 33. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. T. Saito, T. Tougan, D. Okuzaki, T. Kasama, and H. Nojima Mcp6, a meiosis-specific coiled-coil protein of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, localizes to the spindle pole body and is required for horsetail movement and recombination J. Cell Sci., January 15, 2005; 118(2): 447 - 459. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. G. Yamamoto, Y. Chikashige, F. Ozoe, M. Kawamukai, and Y. Hiraoka Activation of the pheromone-responsive MAP kinase drives haploid cells to undergo ectopic meiosis with normal telomere clustering and sister chromatid segregation in fission yeast J. Cell Sci., August 1, 2004; 117(17): 3875 - 3886. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Anuradha and K. Muniyappa Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hop1 Zinc Finger Motif Is the Minimal Region Required for Its Function in Vitro J. Biol. Chem., July 9, 2004; 279(28): 28961 - 28969. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K.-I. Nonomura, M. Nakano, T. Fukuda, M. Eiguchi, A. Miyao, H. Hirochika, and N. Kurata The Novel Gene HOMOLOGOUS PAIRING ABERRATION IN RICE MEIOSIS1 of Rice Encodes a Putative Coiled-Coil Protein Required for Homologous Chromosome Pairing in Meiosis PLANT CELL, April 1, 2004; 16(4): 1008 - 1020. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Sadaie, T. Naito, and F. Ishikawa Stable inheritance of telomere chromatin structure and function in the absence of telomeric repeats Genes & Dev., September 15, 2003; 17(18): 2271 - 2282. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Kibe, K. Tomita, A. Matsuura, D. Izawa, T. Kodaira, T. Ushimaru, M. Uritani, and M. Ueno Fission yeast Rhp51 is required for the maintenance of telomere structure in the absence of the Ku heterodimer Nucleic Acids Res., September 1, 2003; 31(17): 5054 - 5063. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Decottignies, P. Zarzov, and P. Nurse In vivo localisation of fission yeast cyclin-dependent kinase cdc2p and cyclin B cdc13p during mitosis and meiosis J. Cell Sci., March 9, 2002; 114(14): 2627 - 2640. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Miki, K. Okazaki, M. Shimanuki, A. Yamamoto, Y. Hiraoka, and O. Niwa The 14-kDa Dynein Light Chain-Family Protein Dlc1 Is Required for Regular Oscillatory Nuclear Movement and Efficient Recombination during Meiotic Prophase in Fission Yeast Mol. Biol. Cell, March 1, 2002; 13(3): 930 - 946. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Yamamoto, C. Tsutsumi, H. Kojima, K. Oiwa, and Y. Hiraoka Dynamic Behavior of Microtubules during Dynein-dependent Nuclear Migrations of Meiotic Prophase in Fission Yeast Mol. Biol. Cell, December 1, 2001; 12(12): 3933 - 3946. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Maddar, N. Ratzkovsky, and A. Krauskopf Role for Telomere Cap Structure in Meiosis Mol. Biol. Cell, October 1, 2001; 12(10): 3191 - 3203. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Davis and G. R. Smith Meiotic recombination and chromosome segregation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe PNAS, July 17, 2001; 98(15): 8395 - 8402. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Molnar, J. Bahler, J. Kohli, and Y. Hiraoka Live observation of fission yeast meiosis in recombination-deficient mutants: a study on achiasmate chromosome segregation J. Cell Sci., January 8, 2001; 114(15): 2843 - 2853. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Trelles-Sticken, M. E. Dresser, and H. Scherthan Meiotic Telomere Protein Ndj1p Is Required for Meiosis-specific Telomere Distribution, Bouquet Formation and Efficient Homologue Pairing J. Cell Biol., October 3, 2000; 151(1): 95 - 106. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. S. H. Goldman and M. Lichten Restriction of ectopic recombination by interhomolog interactions during Saccharomyces cerevisiae meiosis PNAS, August 15, 2000; 97(17): 9537 - 9542. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Takahashi, M. Kuro-o, and F. Ishikawa Aging mechanisms PNAS, November 7, 2000; 97(23): 12407 - 12408. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]