Haploid gametes are generated through two consecutive meiotic divisions, with the segregation of chromosome pairs in meiosis I and sister chromatids in meiosis II. Separase-mediated stepwise removal of cohesion, first from chromosome arms and later from the centromere region, is a prerequisite for maintaining sister chromatids together until their separation in meiosis II [1]. In all model orga...

Absence of mitosis and meiosis are distinguishing properties of male germ cells during late fetal and early neonatal periods. Repressors of male germ cell meiosis have been identified, but mitotic repressors are largely unknown, and no protein repressing both meiosis and mitosis is known. We demonstrate here that the zinc-finger protein BNC2 is present in male but not in female germ cells. In t...

Germ cells are the foundation of an individual, since they generate the gametes and provide the unique genome established through meiosis. The sex-specific fate of the germline in mammals is thought to be controlled by somatic signals, which are still poorly characterized. We demonstrate here that somatic Wnt signalling is crucial for the control of female germline development. Wnt-4 maintains ...

Meiosis is a specialized form of cell division generating haploid gametes and is dependent upon protein ubiquitylation by the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C). Accurate control of the APC/C during meiosis is important in all eukaryotic cells and is in part regulated by the association of coactivators and inhibitors. We previously showed that the fission yeast meiosis-specific protei...

Meiosis is a modified cell division that produces four haploid nuclei from a single diploid cell in two rounds of chromosome segregation. Here, we analyze the role of Arabidopsis thaliana SUPPRESSOR WITH MORPHOGENETIC EFFECTS ON GENITALIA7 (SMG7), THREE DIVISION MUTANT1 (TDM1), and TARDY ASYNCHRONOUS MEIOSIS (TAM) in meiotic progression. SMG7 is a conserved nonsense-mediated mRNA decay factor t...

Sexual reproduction predominates among eukaryotic organisms on our planet. While debate continues over why this should be so, burgeoning genomic and functional information now allows us to begin to think reasonably about some of the events that may have occurred to make sex possible in the first place.

Meiosis, the process by which sexually reproducing organisms generate gametes (sex cells), is an essential precondition for the normal formation of the embryo. As sexually-reproducing, diploid, multicellular eukaryotes, humans [5] rely on meiosis [6] to serve a number of important functions, including the promotion of genetic diversity and the creation of proper conditions for reproductive succ...

In budding yeast, as in other eukaryotes, the Cdc7 protein kinase is important for initiation of DNA synthesis in vegetative cells. In addition, Cdc7 has crucial meiotic functions: it facilitates premeiotic DNA replication, and it is essential for the initiation of recombination. This work uses a chemical genetic approach to demonstrate that Cdc7 kinase has additional roles in meiosis. First, C...

Meiosis entails sorting and separating both homologous and sister chromatids. The mechanisms for connecting sister chromatids and homologs during meiosis are highly conserved and include specialized forms of the cohesin complex and a tightly regulated homolog synapsis/recombination pathway designed to yield regular crossovers between homologous chromatids. Drosophila male meiosis is of special ...

During meiosis, the kinetochore undergoes substantial reorganization to establish monopolar spindle attachment. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the KNL1-Spc7-Mis12-Nuf2 (KMN) complex, which constitutes the outer kinetochore, is disassembled during meiotic prophase and is reassembled before meiosis I. Here, we show that the nucleoporin Nup132 is required for timely assembly of th...