Videomicroscopy and Microinjection Studies of Maize Meiocytes

9407867维克这是一个职业发展奖，用于支持维克博士休假期间的研究活动。该项目的目的是开发玉米减数细胞，作为研究减数分裂过程中细胞骨架元件动力学的有用系统。与她的休假宿主合作，PI将建立一个玉米减数细胞的培养系统，使他们能够在细胞进行减数分裂的生活状态下通过微分干涉显微镜进行观察。将微注射特定抗体，或将已知的破坏微管或肌动蛋白微丝的特定试剂应用于细胞，并评估这些干扰物对野生型和雄性不育突变玉米减数分裂、分裂平面测定和细胞分裂的影响。这是一个职业发展奖，用于支持维克博士休假期间的研究活动。%%% %减数分裂或“减数分裂”的过程对真核生物有性生殖至关重要，但对其了解甚少。减数分裂是一种特殊的、复杂的、多步骤的细胞分裂，其中二倍体细胞产生单倍体配子。在这个过程中，二倍体祖细胞的遗传物质，以一对染色体的形式存在，其中每一对染色体最初来自于每个亲本配子，非常精确地分裂成两个独立但功能相同的部分，每个部分包含每一对染色体中的每一个。产生的配子的最终命运是与相应的异性配子有性结合，产生一个新的二倍体受精卵，然后发育成一个新的有机体。在这个项目中，所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模式系统，而且考虑到杂交玉米的农业和营养意义，它本身就是一个重要的研究课题。提出的实验将为减数分裂染色体彼此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. ***