Cyclin B3 is required for metaphase to anaphase transition in oocyte meiosis I.

Meiosis with a single round of DNA replication and two successive rounds of chromosome segregation requires specific cyclins associated with cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) to ensure its fidelity. But how cyclins control the distinctive meiosis is still largely unknown. In this study, we explored the role of cyclin B3 in female meiosis by generating mutant mice via CRISPR/Cas9. mutant oocytes characteristically arrested at metaphase I (MetI) with normal spindle assembly and lacked enough anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) activity, which is spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) independent, to initiate anaphase I (AnaI). Securin siRNA or CDK1 inhibitor supplements rescued the MetI arrest. Furthermore, CCNB3 directly interacts with CDK1 to exert kinase function. Besides, the MetI arrest oocytes had normal development after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) or parthenogenetic activation (PA), along with releasing the sister chromatids, which implies that Ccnb3 exclusively functioned in meiosis I, rather than meiosis II. Our study sheds light on the specific cell cycle control of cyclins in meiosis.