Spatial and Temporal Control of the Meiotic Cell Cycle

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This research grant application is towards our research on the regulation of meiosis. Meiosis is a highly specialized form of cell division that occurs to make the egg and sperm. It is an essential process in all animals that reproduce sexually, and while it is more complex that the normal cell divisions, it involves much of the same machinery. We study the core cell division regulators, the Cyclin dependent kinases - responsible for entry into mitosis; and the machinery that inactivates these - the Anaphase Promoting Complex. We find that these play specialized roles in meiosis that are distinct from the roles they play in mitosis. In addition, our study of this core cell cycle machinery has lead us to discover a novel pathway by which a regulator of meiosis is also important for determining the sexual fate of the resulting progeny. Our work will greatly expand our understanding of meiosis, while drawing connections between this and other fundamental biological processes.