FeM-ID: a biotin labeling-based approach for the dissection of female meiotic chromosome behavior in Arabidopsis thaliana

Meiosis assures formation of both male and female gametes. However, cytological studies of female meiotic chromosome behavior in plants are scarce, mainly due to the comparatively low number and inaccessibility of female meiotic cells. We present Female Meiotic cell IDentification (FeM-ID), an approach for cytological identification of female meiotic cells in Arabidopsis. By employing ASY1-eYFP-TurboID, female meiotic cells (chromatin and cytoplasm) are specifically labeled by biotin. This facilitates their rapid microscopic identification and detailed assessment of female meiotic chromosome behavior. ASY1-eYFP-TurboID can be transformed or introgressed into different genetic backgrounds without any adverse effects on meiosis in either sex. Our approach enabled us to analyze female meiotic chromosome behavior, including bivalent and univalent frequencies, minimum chiasma numbers and chromosome segregation, in various ecotypes (Col-0, Ler-0, and Ws-2), colchicine-induced tetraploids (Col-4x) and selected meiotic mutants (sporulation 11-1 (spo11-1), meiotic recombination 11 (mre11), and mutL homolog 3 (mlh3), facilitating cytological studies of heterochiasmy (sex-specific differences in recombination rates or patterns). FeM-ID is compatible with other cytological techniques, such as immunolocalization and fluorescence in situ hybridization, which allowed us, for instance, to assess homologous chromosome pairing or to track individual chromosomes in female meiotic cells. In conclusion, FeM-ID represents an approach that fills a long-standing gap in the dissection of female meiotic chromosome behavior in Arabidopsis and holds the potential for application in other plant species.