| Date |
Tuesday, 27 November 2018, 11:00～ |
| Room |
Center for Smart Aging Research 1F, IDAC |
| Title |
Meiotic drive: Competition between chromosomes that violates Mendel’s Law. |
| Speaker |
Takashi Akera |
| Affiliation |
Univ. of Pennsylvania |
| Organizer |
Kenji Iemura (Dept. of Molecular Oncology・ext 8490) |
| Abstract |
Genetic elements compete for transmission through meiosis when haploid gametes are created from a diploid parent. Mendel’s Law of Segregation states that alleles of a gene are transmitted to gametes with equal probability, but this law can be violated by selfish genetic elements through meiotic drive. Despite the impact of drive on evolution, genetics and reproduction, little is known about the underlying biological cell mechanisms. Female meiosis provides an opportunity for selfish elements to cheat because only chromosomes that segregate to the egg can be transmitted to off springs. Our studies focus on centromeres as selfish elements that bias their segregation through interactions with spindle microtubules. Our results address properties of the meiotic spindle that are exploited by selfish centromeres, activities at centromeres that bias their segregation, and centromere evolution to increase those activities. |
