同源染色体重组是促进生物体稳定繁衍和保证遗传多样性的重要生物学过程。减数分裂同源染色体重组的起始包括双链断裂（Double Strand Break;DSB）形成和修复。DSB形成是减数分裂同源染色体重组起始的关键过程，但是目前对DSB形成的分子机理了解不多。特别在植物中，已知六个拟南芥基因影响DSB形成过程，但是对这六个的生物学功能以及DSB形成的分子机理了解非常有限。项目申请人在前期研究中发现DFO是参与减数分裂同源重组起始DSB形成的一个新基因。本项目将以DFO为线索，研究DFO在配子形成过程，特别是减数第一次分裂前期的蛋白表达谱。同时利用生物化学及细胞生物学手段找寻与DFO相互作用的蛋白质，探索DSB形成过程的分子机制。本项目的完成将促进对减数分裂同源重组起始分子机理的了解,并为农业上改良品种提供理论基础。

The meiotic homologous recombination is an important biological process facilitating the stable sexual reproduction and maintaining the genetic diversity. The initiation of homologous recombination includes DSB formaion and DSB repair. DSB formation is a crucial process during meiotic homologous recombination. However, few studies reported the molecular mechanism of DSB formation. Especially in plant, there are six genes which have been reported to be involved in double strand break formation, but the biological function of these genes and the molecular mechanism of DSB formation in plant is also far from clear. In the previous research, the project applicant found that DFO was a new gene participating in DSB formation during the initiation of homologous recombination. In this project, the applicant will use DFO gene as a clue to further study the protein expression pattern of DFO during microsporegenesis,especially during prophase I, meanwhile the biochemical and cytological approaches will be used to search for proteins interacting with DFO. The completion of this project will not only facilitate the understanding of the molecular mechanism of meiotic homologous recombination initiation， but also provide the theoretical basis for improving crop varieties in agricultural.