Chromosome segregation during meiosis

Sexually reproducing organisms produce haploid gametes from diploid progenitor cells in a specialized cell division called meiosis. This reductional nature of chromosome segregation during meiosis is a fundamental aspect of biology which mechanism we do not understand. For this, we must first identify the proteins responsible for chromosome segregation during meiosis. We plan to employ two different strategies to identify the relevant proteins in the fission yeast S. pombe: (1) a knock-out screen of selected genes and (2) a candidate approach. We want to understand the function of these proteins and to identify the mechanism governing meiotic chromosome segregation. It is important to understand this process, as failure to faithfully segregate chromosomes during meiosis leads to chromosome mis-segregation, which is a major cause of birth defects and genetic disorders (e.g. Down Syndrome). It is also the most common cause of miscarriages in humans and can lead to infertility.

Sexually reproducing organisms use meiosis to produce egg or sperm cells. Meiosis is a fundamental aspect of biology, however, the mechanism is not fully understood. In this project, we identified and characterized proteins required for proper function of meiosis using the fission yeast as a model organism. This project also allowed us to initiate collaborations with other scientists who are testing whether the role of these proteins that we characterized in yeast is conserved in other organisms. In this way we want to contribute to our understanding of molecular mechanisms that allow meiosis to work properly. We believe that it is important to understand the role of proteins that function during meiosis, as their failure may lead to production of abnormal egg or sperm cells, which may cause birth defects, infertility and genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome in human.