Tian Miao, Cai Xia, Liu Yujie, Liucong Mingmei, Howard-Till Rachel
Institute of Evolution & Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003 China.
Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237 China.
Mar Life Sci Technol. 2022 Nov 22;4(4):595-608. doi: 10.1007/s42995-022-00149-8. eCollection 2022 Nov.
Meiosis is a critical cell division program that produces haploid gametes for sexual reproduction. Abnormalities in meiosis are often causes of infertility and birth defects (e.g., Down syndrome). Most organisms use a highly specialized zipper-like protein complex, the synaptonemal complex (SC), to guide and stabilize pairing of homologous chromosomes in meiosis. Although the SC is critical for meiosis in many eukaryotes, there are organisms that perform meiosis without a functional SC. However, such SC-less meiosis is poorly characterized. To understand the features of SC-less meiosis and its adaptive significance, the ciliated protozoan was selected as a model. Meiosis research in has revealed intriguing aspects of the regulatory programs utilized in its SC-less meiosis, yet additional efforts are needed for obtaining an in-depth comprehension of mechanisms that are associated with the absence of SC. Here, aiming at promoting a wider application of for meiosis research, we introduce basic concepts and core techniques for studying meiosis in and then suggest future directions for expanding the current meiosis research toolbox. These methodologies could be adopted for dissecting meiosis in poorly characterized ciliates that might reveal novel features. Such data will hopefully provide insights into the function of the SC and the evolution of meiosis from a unique perspective.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42995-022-00149-8.
减数分裂是一种关键的细胞分裂程序，它产生用于有性生殖的单倍体配子。减数分裂异常通常是不孕和出生缺陷（如唐氏综合征）的原因。大多数生物利用一种高度特化的拉链状蛋白质复合物——联会复合体（SC），来指导和稳定减数分裂中同源染色体的配对。尽管SC对许多真核生物的减数分裂至关重要，但有些生物在没有功能性SC的情况下也能进行减数分裂。然而，这种无SC减数分裂的特征了解甚少。为了了解无SC减数分裂的特征及其适应性意义，选择纤毛原生动物作为模型。对其减数分裂的研究揭示了其无SC减数分裂中所利用的调控程序的有趣方面，但仍需要进一步努力以深入理解与SC缺失相关的机制。在此，为了促进其在减数分裂研究中的更广泛应用，我们介绍研究其减数分裂的基本概念和核心技术，然后提出扩展当前其减数分裂研究工具箱的未来方向。这些方法可用于剖析特征不明的纤毛虫的减数分裂，可能会揭示新的特征。这些数据有望从独特的角度深入了解SC的功能和减数分裂的进化。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s42995-022-00149-8获取的补充材料。
