A meiosis-specific protein kinase homolog required for chromosome synapsis and recombination.

The mek1 (meiotic kinase) mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was isolated in a screen for sporulation-proficient, meiotic-lethal mutants. Diploids homozygous for a mek1 null mutation produce only 13% viable spores. mek1 spore inviability is rescued by a spo13 mutation, which causes cells to bypass the meiosis I division. In a mek1 null mutant, meiotic recombination is reduced but not completely eliminated. Nuclear spreads of meiotic chromosomes from mek1 diploids reveal numerous stretches of synaptonemal complex (SC) that are shorter than wild-type SCs. Analysis of a mek1::lacZ fusion gene and Northern blot hybridization demonstrate that the MEK1 transcript is present only in meiosis. The sequence of the MEK1 gene predicts a 56.8-kD protein with homology to serine-threonine protein kinases. The MEK1 gene maps to chromosome XV, 13 cM proximal to CDC64. Models for the function of the MEK1 gene product are proposed.