The Caenorhabditis elegans Shugoshin regulates TAC-1 in cilia.

The conserved Shugoshin (SGO) protein family is essential for mediating proper chromosome segregation from yeast to humans but has also been implicated in diverse roles outside of the nucleus. SGO's roles include inhibiting incorrect spindle attachment in the kinetochore, regulating the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), and ensuring centriole cohesion in the centrosome, all functions that involve different microtubule scaffolding structures in the cell. In Caenorhabditis elegans, a species with holocentric chromosomes, SGO-1 is not required for cohesin protection or spindle attachment but appears important for licensing meiotic recombination. Here we provide the first functional evidence that in C. elegans, Shugoshin functions in another extranuclear, microtubule-based structure, the primary cilium. We identify the centrosomal and microtubule-regulating transforming acidic coiled-coil protein, TACC/TAC-1, which also localizes to the basal body, as an SGO-1 binding protein. Genetic analyses indicate that TAC-1 activity must be maintained below a threshold at the ciliary base for correct cilia function, and that SGO-1 likely participates in constraining TAC-1 to the basal body by influencing the function of the transition zone 'ciliary gate'. This research expands our understanding of cellular functions of Shugoshin proteins and contributes to the growing examples of overlap between kinetochore, centrosome and cilia proteomes.

Backcrossing to increase meiotic stability in triticale.

Triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) is an intergeneric hybrid derived from a cross between wheat and rye. As a newly created allopolyploid, the plant shows instabilities during the meiotic process, which may result in the loss of fertility. This genomic instability has hindered the success of triticale-breeding programs. Therefore, strategies should be developed to obtain stable triticale lines for use in breeding. In some species, backcrossing has been effective in increasing the meiotic stability of lineages. To assess whether backcrossing has the same effect in triticale, indices of meiotic abnormalities, meiotic index, and pollen viability were determined in genotypes from multiple generations of triticale (P1, P2, F1, F2, BC1a, and BC1b). All analyzed genotypes exhibited instability during meiosis, and their meiotic index values were all lower than normal. However, the backcrosses BC1a and BC1b showed the lowest mean meiotic abnormalities and the highest meiotic indices, demonstrating higher stability. All genotypes showed a high rate of pollen viability, with the backcrosses BC1a and BC1b again exhibiting the best values. Statistical analyses confirmed that backcrossing positively affects the meiotic stability of triticale. Our results show that backcrossing should be considered by breeders aiming to obtain triticale lines with improved genomic stability.