Molecular Control of Meiotic Chromosome Dynamics

项目概要/摘要 有性生殖生物体依赖减数分裂，这是一种产生单倍体配子的特殊细胞分裂 例如精子和卵子，通过受精恢复受精卵的遗传内容。这个过程中的错误 导致产生染色体数目异常或非整倍体的后代，这是一个主要的 人类流产和出生缺陷（例如唐氏综合症）的原因。准确分离 减数分裂期间的染色体需要配对、突触并与其自身进行交叉重组 同系物。尽管几十年来的遗传学研究已经确定了一系列对生命至关重要的蛋白质 减数分裂过程中，人们仍然很大程度上不清楚这些蛋白质机器如何协同工作来协调 染色体动力学。我的研究计划将通过结合研究这些基本过程 使用纯化成分进行生化和结构分析，能够检查减数分裂 高度易处理的秀丽隐杆线虫种系的背景。在减数分裂早期，染色体发生显着重组 成一系列与蛋白质轴相连的染色质环，这对于所有主要的减数分裂都是必不可少的 事件

Project Summary/Abstract Sexually reproducing organisms rely on meiosis, a specialized cell division that produces haploid gametes such as sperm and eggs, to restore the genetic content of the zygote through fertilization. Errors in this process lead to the production of offspring with an abnormal number of chromosomes or aneuploidy, and this is a major cause of human miscarriages and birth defects such as Down syndrome. Accurate segregation of chromosomes during meiosis requires that they pair, synapse, and undergo crossover recombination with their homologs. Although genetic studies over the decades have identified a list of proteins that are essential for meiotic processes, it remains largely unknown how these protein machines work together to orchestrate chromosome dynamics. My research program will investigate these fundamental processes by combining biochemical and structural analysis using purified components, with the ability to examine meiosis in the context of highly tractable C. elegans germline. Early in meiosis, chromosomes are dramatically reorganized into arrays of chromatin loops tethered to a proteinaceous axis, and this is essential for all major meiotic events