Spatial and Temporal Control of the Meiotic Cell Cycle

这项研究资助申请是针对我们对减数分裂调控的研究。减数分裂是细胞分裂的一种高度特化的形式，发生以产生卵子和精子。这是所有有性生殖动物的一个基本过程，虽然它比正常的细胞分裂更复杂，但它涉及到许多相同的机制。我们研究核心细胞分裂调节因子，细胞周期蛋白依赖性激酶-负责进入有丝分裂;和机器，使这些失活-后期促进复合物。我们发现，这些在减数分裂中发挥专门的作用，这是不同的角色，他们在有丝分裂中发挥作用。此外，我们对这种核心细胞周期机制的研究使我们发现了一种新的途径，通过这种途径，减数分裂的调节因子对于决定所产生的后代的性命运也很重要。我们的工作将极大地扩展我们对减数分裂的理解，同时将其与其他基本生物过程联系起来。

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.