Missing the Mark: PRDM9-Dependent Methylation Is Required for Meiotic DSB Targeting

PRDM9 determines the localization of meiotic recombination hotspots, which are associated with histone H3 methylation. It is not known whether PRDM9’s methyltransferase activity is required or how some PRDM9 alleles can dominate the distribution of hotspots over other alleles. Diagouraga, Clément, and colleagues (2018) show that methyltransferase activity is required for hotspot localization and that this activity is additive in combination, suggesting that the dominance of particular alleles is simply proportional to the frequency of targeted sites. PRDM9 determines the localization of meiotic recombination hotspots, which are associated with histone H3 methylation. It is not known whether PRDM9’s methyltransferase activity is required or how some PRDM9 alleles can dominate the distribution of hotspots over other alleles. Diagouraga, Clément, and colleagues (2018) show that methyltransferase activity is required for hotspot localization and that this activity is additive in combination, suggesting that the dominance of particular alleles is simply proportional to the frequency of targeted sites.