Institut Jacques Monod Seminar – Adèle Marston

Invited by the Wassmann lab, Professor Adele L. Marston (Centre for Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh) will present an Institut Jacques Monod seminar on the theme:

Functional organisation of pericentromeres in mitosis and meiosis

Abstract:

Our overall goal is to understand how cells inherit the correct number of chromosomes during mitosis and meiosis. Deviations in chromosome number, called aneuploidy, are a hallmark of cancer and cause birth defects, miscarriages and infertility. Mitosis generates genetically identical daughter cells by evenly segregating the sister chromatids. Meiosis partitions half the genome into gametes through two consecutive segregation events: homologs segregate in meiosis-I, followed by sister chromatids in meiosis-II. Meiosis is especially error-prone: around 1% of human sperm and up to 30% of oocytes are aneuploid. To discover molecular mechanisms, we exploit the tractability of yeast, combined with work in frog, mouse and human oocytes. Our approach is guided by the research question, leading to the employment and development of a wide range of cell biological, genomic, proteomic and biochemical assays. Our group discovered unanticipated roles for pericentromeres, discrete chromosomal domains flanking centromeres, and specialised functions for kinetochores in orienting chromosomes to ensure accurate segregation. In my seminar I will discuss our recent work revealing how pericentromere organization directs accurate chromosome segregation in mitosis and meiosis, in both yeast and oocytes.