Videomicroscopy and Microinjection Studies of Maize Meiocytes

9407867威克这是一个职业进步奖，用来支持威克博士休假期间的研究活动。该项目的目的是开发玉米小细胞作为一种有用的系统来研究减数分裂过程中细胞骨架元素的动态。在与她的休假东道主的合作下，PI将建立一种玉米微核细胞的培养系统，该系统将允许在细胞减数分裂过程中通过差分干涉显微镜观察它们的生存状态。特定的抗体将被显微注射，或已知的破坏微管或肌动蛋白微丝的特定试剂将被应用于细胞，这些扰动对野生型和雄性不育突变玉米的减数分裂、分裂平面确定和细胞质分裂的影响将被评估。%这是一个职业发展奖，用于支持威克博士休假期间的研究活动。减数分裂的过程对真核生物的有性繁殖至关重要，但人们对此知之甚少。减数分裂是一种特殊的、复杂的、多步骤的细胞分裂类型，在这一过程中，二倍体细胞产生单倍体配子。在这个过程中，二倍体前体细胞的遗传物质以染色体对的形式存在，每个染色体最初来自每个亲本配子，被非常准确地分割成两个独立但功能相同的部分，每一部分包含每对染色体中的一对。由此产生的配子的最终命运是与相应的异性配子进行性结合，产生新的二倍体受精卵，然后发育成新的有机体。在这个项目中，正在研究的模式生物是玉米(玉米)，它不仅是一个潜在的有用的高等植物减数分裂的模式系统，而且鉴于杂交玉米的农业和营养意义，它本身也是一个重要的研究课题。拟议的实验将为减数分裂染色体相互分离的细胞机制提供重要的见解。***

9407867 Wick This is a Career Advancement Award to support research activities during Dr. Wick's sabbatical. The aim of the project is to develop maize meiocytes as a useful system for studying the dynamics of cytoskeletal elements during meiosis. In collaboration with her sabbatical hosts, the PI will establish a culture system for maize meiocytes that will allow their observation by differential interference microscopy in the living state as the cells undergo meiosis. Specific antibodies will be microinjected, or specific reagents known to disrupt microtubules or actin microfilaments will be applied to the cells, and the effects of these perturbants on meiosis, division plane determination, and cytokinesis in wild-type and male-sterile mutant maize will be assessed. %%% This is a Career Advancement Award to support research activities during Dr. Wick's sabbatical. The process of meiosis, or "reduction division," is critically important to sexual reproduction in eukaryotes, but is very poorly understood. Meiosis is a specialized , complex, multi-step type of cellular division, in which a diploid cell gives rise to a haploid gamete. In this process, the genetic material of the diploid progenitor cell, which is present as pairs of chromosomes one each of which was originally derived from each parental gamete, is very accurately split into two separate but functionally equivalent portions, each portion containing one each of each of the pairs. The ultimate fate of the resulting gamete is sexual union with the corresponding other-sex gamete, to give rise to a new diploid zygote which then develops into a new organism. In this project, the model organism under study is maize (corn), which is not only a potentially useful model system for higher plant meiosis in general, but is in its own right an important subject of study given the agricultural and nutritional significance of hybrid corn. The experiments proposed will provide important insights into the cellular mechanisms whereby the meiotic chromosomes are separated from each other. ***