The RTR complex as caretaker of genome stability and its unique meiotic function in plants

The RTR complex consisting of a RecQ helicase, a type IA topoisomerase and the structural protein RMI1 is involved in the processing of DNA recombination intermediates in all eukaryotes. In Arabidopsis thaliana the complex partners RECQ4A, topoisomerase 3α and RMI1 have been shown to be involved in DNA repair and in the suppression of homologous recombination in somatic cells. Interestingly, mutants of AtTOP3A and AtRMI1 are also sterile due to extensive chromosome breakage in meiosis I, a phenotype that seems to be specific for plants. Although both proteins are essential for meiotic recombination it is still elusive on what kind of intermediates they are acting on. Recent data indicate that the pattern of non-crossover (NCO)-associated meiotic gene conversion (GC) differs between plants and other eukaryotes, as less NCOs in comparison to crossovers (CO) could be detected in Arabidopsis. This indicates that NCOs happen either more rarely in plants or that the conversion tract length is significantly shorter than in other organisms. As the TOP3α/RMI1-mediated dissolution of recombination intermediates results exclusively in NCOs, we suggest that the peculiar GC pattern found in plants is connected to the unique role, members of the RTR complex play in plant meiosis.