LAUSR

Significance Meiotic recombination is essential for producing genetically diversified haploid gametes and initiates from the programmed formation of double-strand breaks (DSBs), which usually take place in accessible chromatin with features of active transcription in multiple species. However, the relationship between the regulation of gene transcription and DSB hotspots is not well understood. Here, we demonstrate that the largest DNA polymerase epsilon subunit POL2A recruits SU(VAR)3-9 homologs SUVH2 to the meiotic DSB sites, thereby jointly repressing the transcription of meiotic DSB-associated genes via a nonclassical RdDM pathway. This study provides new insights into how gene transcription is suppressed at meiotic DSB sites in plants, which could be conserved in other organisms.