A screen for meiotic pairing genes in C. elegans

Meiosis consists of chromosome recognition, synapsis, material exchange and separation in two steps. While over the last decade impressive progress has been made in elucidating the structures and mechanisms involved in synaptonemal complex formation, crossing over and segregation, the question how homologous chromosomes recognize each other in the first place and establish the primary contact is still unanswered. We are performing mutant screens in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (a model organism well suited for studying meiotic chromosome behaviour) to identify genes with a role in meiotic homology recognition. The characterization of these genes should help to identify processes by which homologous chromosomes find each other and associate in meiosis.

Meiosis consists of chromosome recognition, synapsis, material exchange and separation in two steps. While over the last decade impressive progress has been made in elucidating the structures and mechanisms involved in synaptonemal complex formation, crossing over and segregation, the question how homologous chromosomes recognize each other in the first place and establish the primary contact is still unanswered. We are performing mutant screens in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (a model organism well suited for studying meiotic chromosome behaviour) to identify genes with a role in meiotic homology recognition. The characterization of these genes should help to identify processes by which homologous chromosomes find each other and associate in meiosis.