Meiotic Synapsis Proceeds from a Limited Number of Subtelomeric Sites in the Human Male

Petrice W Brown; LuAnn Judis; E. Ricky Chan; Stuart Schwartz; Allen Seftel; Anthony Thomas; Terry J Hassold

doi:10.1086/468188

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Meiotic Synapsis Proceeds from a Limited Number of Subtelomeric Sites in the Human Male

Journal article

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Meiotic Synapsis Proceeds from a Limited Number of Subtelomeric Sites in the Human Male

Petrice W Brown, LuAnn Judis, E. Ricky Chan, Stuart Schwartz, Allen Seftel, Anthony Thomas and Terry J Hassold

American journal of human genetics, Vol.77(4), pp.556-566

10/2005

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/468188

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https://hdl.handle.net/2376/104740

PMCID: PMC1275605

PMID: 16175502

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Abstract

The formation of the synaptonemal complex (SC) is a crucial early step in the meiotic process, but relatively little is known about the establishment of the human SC. Accordingly, we recently initiated a study of synapsis in the human male, combining immunofluorescence and fluorescence in situ hybridization methodologies to analyze prophase spermatocytes from a series of control individuals. Our results indicate that synapsis is a tightly regulated process, with relatively little variation among individuals. On nonacrocentric chromosomes, there are two synaptic initiation sites, one on the distal short arm and one on the distal long arm, whereas acrocentric chromosomes exhibit a single site on the distal long arm. For both types of chromosomes, synapsis then proceeds toward the centromere, with little evidence that specific p- or q-arm sequences affect the process. However, the centromere appears to have an inhibitory effect on synapsis—that is, when one arm of a nonacrocentric chromosome is “zippered up” before the other, the centromere acts as a barrier to further movement from that arm.

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Title: Meiotic Synapsis Proceeds from a Limited Number of Subtelomeric Sites in the Human Male
Creators: Petrice W Brown - Center for Human Genetics and Departments of
LuAnn Judis - Center for Human Genetics and Departments of
E. Ricky Chan - Center for Human Genetics and Departments of
Stuart Schwartz - Center for Human Genetics and Departments of
Allen Seftel - Center for Human Genetics and Departments of
Anthony Thomas - Center for Human Genetics and Departments of
Terry J Hassold - Center for Human Genetics and Departments of
Publication Details: American journal of human genetics, Vol.77(4), pp.556-566
Academic Unit: Molecular Biosciences, School of
Publisher: The American Society of Human Genetics
Identifiers: 99900547088001842
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article