Suppression of meiotic double-strand break formation in somatic cells by DREAM factors TCX5/6 maintains genome stability

Abstract

Meiotic recombination in reproductive cells is initiated by DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and requires the expression of meiosis-specific genes, yet how the transcription of those genes is regulated in either meiotic or somatic cells remains unclear. Here, using a representative meiosis-specific DMC1 gene promoter as a bait, we identified two DREAM factors TCX5 and TCX6 required for direct repression of DMC1 in somatic cells. Transcriptomic analyses show broad ectopic up-regulation of meiotic genes in tcx5/6 leaves . Consistently, tcx5/6 somatic cells form DSBs and exhibit hypersensitivity to DNA damage compared to wild type. Further genetic analyses reveal that SPO11-1 is dispensable for ectopic meiotic gene activation but essential for the DNA damage response in tcx5/6 somatic cells. Last, we demonstrated that TCX5/6 repress meiotic gene expression through H3K4me3 modification. This finding uncovers an unexpected mechanism for suppressing meiotic recombination in somatic cells, thus preventing genetic diversity and genome instability in organisms.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science Advances, 2026 · DOI ↗