Regulating Synaptonemal Complex Assembly: Mechanisms that Control Protein Aggregation During Meiosis

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Abstract

This project examines the process of meiosis, which involves a unique cell division essential for the formation of cells such as egg and sperm. These cells are required for sexual reproduction, and when they are improperly formed the outcome is sterility. This project will investigate a critical protein complex in meiosis, named the Synaptonemal Complex (SC), in order to understand how it is formed and stabilized, and what are the factors that affect its structure and function. The project will also offer training opportunities in genetics, the science of heredity, to help develop the next generation of successful scientists and teachers. Students in various stages of their careers will be involved, including high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students. In particular, this project will help address the lack of diversity within STEM disciplines by involving underrepresented minorities in research performed at the University of Iowa. The Iowa Genetics Research program for high-school students in the department of Biology (iGRHB) will expose students to scientific methodologies, experimental design, and data interpretation in an investigation-based lab setting. iGRHB students will be recruited from the Iowa City area, from a local community with a majority of STEM-underrepresented minorities. SC formation is essential for generation of viable egg and sperm cells, and this function is evolutionarily conserved. In some aberrant conditions, proteins composing the SC aggregate, which leads to SC dysfunction. The project will investigate the molecular mechanisms regulating SC protein aggregation, which in turn affects the proper assembly of the SC. These studies will be performed in the multi-cellular organism Caenorhabditis elegans by using a combination of genetic, cytological, molecular, and biochemical tools available for this model system. The first aim will identify the mechanism by which protein modification regulates SC assembly by the prevention of SC aggregation. The second aim will investigate how nuclear transport controls SC assembly and reduces SC protein aggregation. Overall, these studies will provide crucial insights on the mechanisms regulating SC assembly and, therefore, the fundamental biological and genetic processes required for reproduction.