Mol. Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on January 29, 2009
Molecular Human Reproduction 2009 15(3):139-147; doi:10.1093/molehr/gap007
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Control of homologous chromosome division in the mammalian oocyte
School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
1 Correspondence address. School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia. Tel: +61-02-49-21-86-13; Fax: +61-02-49-21-79-03; E-mail: Janet.Holt{at}newcastle.edu.au
Homologous chromosomes are segregated during the first meiotic division (meiosis I). Unfortunately, human oocytes are particularly susceptible to mis-segregation errors, so generating aneuploid, often non-viable, embryos. Here we review the cell biology of meiosis I and how homolog disjunction is regulated for mammalian oocytes. We focus on the activity of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C), which is responsible for timely degradation of the cohesin component, REC8 and the cyclin B regulatory subunit of maturation-promoting factor, both essential steps for meiosis I completion. In particular, we examine the role played by the spindle assembly checkpoint in controlling the APC/C activity, and in so doing ensuring accurate disjunction of homologs.
Key words: oocyte/homologs/meiosis/recombination/aneuploidy
Submitted on October 22, 2008; resubmitted on January 19, 2009; accepted on January 27, 2009.