Identification Of New Genes Involved In Meiosis Via A Genetic Screen

Events in meiosis are central to the formation of healthy sperms and egg cells. A defective meiosis is the largest genetic cause of infertility, pregnancy loss, stillbirths and severe birth defects. Only a fraction of genes involved in recombination and cell division have been identified so far. The goal of my research is to detect novel genes that are significantly involved in meiosis. To that end, I carried out a genetic screen and I have identified new mutants that confer defects in meiosis. The model organism that was utilized to investigate events in meiosis was the budding yeast. Mutations in the yeast genome were created by the integration of bacterial mini-transposon at random sites. The identified mutants exhibit particular phenotype that is dependent on incubation temperatures. Mutations in the identified candidates are confirmed by genetic approach. Thus far, from this insertional mutagenesis approach, three different kinds of mutants have been identified — (i) mutants carrying mutations in the open reading frames of genes, (ii) mutant carrying mutation in the intergenic region of yeast genome, and (iii) mutant carrying mutation in the 2µ-plasmid.