Specialization of chromosome segregation mechanisms in meiosis

Sexual reproduction relies on the generation of eggs and sperm with half the DNA of the parent, through a form of cell division known as meiosis. Frequently, meiosis makes errors in dividing up the DNA so that more or less than half is put into the egg or sperm. When this happens, eggs and sperm fuse to create an embryo that has the wrong amount of DNA. Such embryos lack the correct "coding" to develop into a healthy baby, resulting in miscarriage, infertility and birth defects such as Downs syndrome. Our goal is to understand how molecules work together in meiosis to divide up the DNA. We will use yeast cells, which perform meiosis in a similar way to humans, as a discovery tool to unravel key processes. The findings will be an important step forward in identifying molecules that might function sub-optimally and cause infertility in humans.