Meiosis Volume 2, Cytological Methods
The unique chromosome dynamics of meiosis have fascinated scientists for well over a century, but in recent years there has been a proliferation of new data concerning the pairing, recombination, and segregation of chromosomes. In Meiosis, expert research
- PDF / 7,175,309 Bytes
- 449 Pages / 547.087 x 737.008 pts Page_size
- 35 Downloads / 191 Views
IN
M O L E C U L A R B I O L O G Y TM
Series Editor John M. Walker School of Life Sciences University of Hertfordshire Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9AB, UK
For further volumes: www.springer.com/series/7651
Meiosis Volume 2, Cytological Methods
Edited by
Scott Keeney Howard Hughes Medical Institute Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
Editor Scott Keeney Howard Hughes Medical Institute Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Molecular Biology Program 1275 York Ave New York, NY 10065-6007 USA [email protected]
ISSN 1064-3745 e-ISSN 1940–6029 ISBN 978-1-60761-102-8 e-ISBN 978-1-60761-103-5 DOI 10.1007/978-1-60761-103-5 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2009926989 # Humana Press, a part of Springer ScienceþBusiness Media, LLC 2009 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Humana Press, c/o Springer ScienceþBusiness Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer ScienceþBusiness Media (www.springer.com)
Preface Each generation in a sexually reproducing organism such as a fly or a mouse passes through the bottleneck of meiosis, which is the specialized cell division that gives rise to haploid reproductive cells (sperm, eggs, spores, etc.). The principal function of meiosis is to reduce the genome complement by half, which is accomplished through sequential execution of one round of DNA replication followed by two rounds of chromosome segregation. Within the extended prophase between DNA replication and the first meiotic division in most organisms, homologous maternal and paternal chromosomes pair with one another and undergo homologous recombination, which establishes physical connections that link the homologous chromosomes until the time they are separated at anaphase I. Recombination also serves to increase genetic diversity from one generation to the next by breaking up linkage groups. The unique chromosome dynamics of meiosis have fascinated scientists for well over a century, but in recent years there has been an explosion of new information about how meiotic chromosomes pair, recombine, and are segregated. Progress has been driven by advances in three main areas: (1) genetic identification of meiosis-defective mutants and cloning of the genes involved; (2) development of direct physical assays for DNA intermediates and products of recombination; and (3) increasingly sophis
Data Loading...
