"Before an egg becomes fertilized, sets of chromosomes must pair up to pass along genetic information.
This happens within each reproductive cell, where separate chromosomes of male and female origin move toward each other and eventually join.
“You need to give the strands time to join for cell division to be done correctly.”
“Chromosomes’ movement is important because you need to move them in synchronicity,” says Sarit Smolikove, associate professor in biology at the University of Iowa. “We’ve shown you don’t want to move them too much or too frequently. You need to give the strands time to join for cell division to be done correctly.”
Smolikove likens the process to a parent zipping a coat for a child. If the child is jerking about as the parent tries to zip the coat, it takes longer for the action to be completed; worse, the zipper could break, meaning the coat doesn’t get zipped at all.
Likewise, the chromosome strands need to line up and have the time to “zip up,” so genetic information is accurately swapped.
Smolikove and colleagues have discovered a protein that appears to regulate the speed at which the female (maternal) and male (paternal) chromosome strands move and pair up.
In laboratory tests, the researchers learned the protein acts like a brake on the chromosomes’ movement, especially the juncture at which the chromosomes join and share DNA, which is critical to an offspring’s successful inheritance of its parents’ genes.
The findings offer new insight into the intricate steps involved in animal fertility, from basic organisms all the way to humans. They also could help biologists better understand defects that occur in reproduction, including those that contribute to Down syndrome..."
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This happens within each reproductive cell, where separate chromosomes of male and female origin move toward each other and eventually join.
“You need to give the strands time to join for cell division to be done correctly.”
“Chromosomes’ movement is important because you need to move them in synchronicity,” says Sarit Smolikove, associate professor in biology at the University of Iowa. “We’ve shown you don’t want to move them too much or too frequently. You need to give the strands time to join for cell division to be done correctly.”
Smolikove likens the process to a parent zipping a coat for a child. If the child is jerking about as the parent tries to zip the coat, it takes longer for the action to be completed; worse, the zipper could break, meaning the coat doesn’t get zipped at all.
Likewise, the chromosome strands need to line up and have the time to “zip up,” so genetic information is accurately swapped.
Smolikove and colleagues have discovered a protein that appears to regulate the speed at which the female (maternal) and male (paternal) chromosome strands move and pair up.
In laboratory tests, the researchers learned the protein acts like a brake on the chromosomes’ movement, especially the juncture at which the chromosomes join and share DNA, which is critical to an offspring’s successful inheritance of its parents’ genes.
The findings offer new insight into the intricate steps involved in animal fertility, from basic organisms all the way to humans. They also could help biologists better understand defects that occur in reproduction, including those that contribute to Down syndrome..."
Learn more:
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