Meiosis, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2009 Volume 2, Cytological Methods Methods in Molecular Biology Series, Vol. 558

Each generation in a sexually reproducing organism such as a fly or a mouse passes through the bottleneck of meiosis, which is the specialized cell division that gives rise to haploid reproductive cells (sperm, eggs, spores, etc. ). The principal function of meiosis is to reduce the genome complement by half, which is accomplished through sequential execution of one round of DNA replication followed by two rounds of chromosome segregation. Within the extended prophase between DNA replication and the first meiotic division in most organisms, homologous maternal and paternal chromosomes pair with one another and undergo homologous recombination, which establishes physical connections that link the homologous chromosomes until the time they are separated at anaphase I. Recombination also serves to increase genetic diversity from one generation to the next by breaking up linkage groups. The unique chromosome dynamics of meiosis have fascinated scientists for well over a century, but in recent years there has been an explosion of new information about how meiotic chromosomes pair, recombine, and are segregated. Progress has been driven by advances in three main areas: (1) genetic identification of meiosis-defective mutants and cloning of the genes involved; (2) development of direct physical assays for DNA intermediates and products of recombination; and (3) increasingly sophisticated cy- logical methods that describe chromosome behaviors and the spatial and temporal patterns by which specific proteins associate with meiotic chromosomes.

Cytological Analysis of Meiotic Chromosomes in Fungi.- Chromosome Spreading and Immunofluorescence Methods in Saccharomyes cerevisiae.- Analysis of Schizosaccharomyces pombe Meiosis by Nuclear Spreading.- Assaying Chromosome Pairing by FISH Analysis of Spread Saccharomyces cerevisiae Nuclei.- Live-Cell Fluorescence Imaging of Meiotic Chromosome Dynamics in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.- Time-Lapse Fluorescence Microscopy of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Meiosis.- Real-Time Imaging of Meiotic Chromosomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.- Observing Meiosis in Filamentous Fungi: Sordaria and Neurospora.- Meiotic Cytogenetics in Coprinus cinereus.- Cytological Analysis of Meiotic Chromosomes in Plants and Small Animals.- Cytological Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Meiotic Chromosomes.- Electron Microscopic Immunogold Localization of Recombination-Related Proteins in Spreads of Synaptonemal Complexes From Tomato Microsporocytes.- Cytological Analysis of Meiosis in Caenorhabditis elegans.- Cytological Analysis of Meiosis in Fixed Drosophila Ovaries.- Analysis of Chromosome Dynamics and Chromosomal Proteins in Drosophila Spermatocytes.- Methods for Meiotic Chromosome Preparation, Immunofluorescence, and Fluorescence in situ Hybridization in Daphnia pulex.- Immunofluorescent Microscopic Study of Meiosis in Zebrafish.- Cytological and Histological Analysis of Mammalian Germ Cells and Meiotic Chromosomes.- Staging of Mouse Seminiferous Tubule Cross-Sections.- Isolation and Short-Term Culture of Mouse Spermatocytes for Analysis of Meiosis.- Isolation and Analyses of Enriched Populations of Male Mouse Germ Cells by Sedimentation Velocity: The Centrifugal Elutriation.- Electron Microscopy of Mammalian Chromosomes.- Analyzing Mammalian Female Meiosis.- Cytological Analysis of Interference inMouse Meiosis.- Analysis of Telomere Dynamics in Mouse Spermatogenesis.- Immunofluorescence Analysis of Human Spermatocytes.- Cytological Techniques to Study Human Female Meiotic Prophase.- Using RNA FISH to Study Gene Expression During Mammalian Meiosis.

State-of-the-art techniques for analysis of meiotic chromosome dynamics Comprehensive methods for studying meiosis in human and in a large number of model organisms including fungi, plants, invertebrate animals, zebrafish, and mice Chapters on electron microscopy and conventional and immunofluorescent light microscopy Techniques for enriching and culturing mouse meiotic cells Techniques for spreading meiotic chromosomes and immunofluorescent detection of chromosome-associated proteins Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras