Spatial and Temporal Control of the Meiotic Cell Cycle

这项研究经费申请是为了我们在减数分裂调控方面的研究。减数分裂是一种高度专业化的细胞分裂形式，产生卵子和精子。对于所有有性繁殖的动物来说，这是一个必不可少的过程，尽管它比正常的细胞分裂更复杂，但它涉及的机制大致相同。我们研究了核心细胞分裂调节因子--细胞周期蛋白依赖的激酶--负责进入有丝分裂；以及使其失活的机制--后期促进复合体。我们发现，它们在减数分裂中扮演着特殊的角色，与它们在有丝分裂中扮演的角色不同。此外，我们对这一核心细胞周期机制的研究使我们发现了一条新的途径，通过该途径，减数分裂的调节对于决定由此产生的后代的有性命运也是重要的。我们的工作将极大地扩展我们对减数分裂的理解，同时绘制这一过程与其他基本生物学过程之间的联系。

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.