Transcriptional control of meiotic recombination by the DREAM complex

Abstract

Meiotic chromosome segregation and recombination, essential for sexual reproduction and evolution, require a specialized gene set. However, how meiotic gene expression is controlled remains largely unclear in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we identify the DREAM complex as a transcriptional regulator of meiotic recombination in Arabidopsis. We show that the DREAM complex localizes to meiotic chromosomes, and that reduced DREAM function disrupts recombination and causes sterility. Meiocyte-specific transcriptomics combined with genome-wide binding analyses revealed that recombination genes, including the crossover-promoting helicase MER3, are direct DREAM targets. Notably, bypassing DREAM regulation of MER3 partially restores recombination in DREAM-deficient plants. Our findings establish the DREAM complex as a major meiotic regulator. Given that reduced DREAM function causes reproductive defects in species such as Drosophila and mice, this role may be conserved across multicellular eukaryotes.