• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 23, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Chromosome defects seen from over-exchange of DNA in sperm and eggs

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
October 8, 2020
in Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

University of Oregon and Northwestern University biologists show that too many crossover events can increase infertility

IMAGE

Credit: Image courtesy of Diana Libuda

EUGENE, Ore. – Oct. 8, 2020 – The exchange of DNA between chromosomes during the early formation of sperm and egg cells normally is limited to assure fertility.

But when there are too many of these genetic exchanges, called crossover events, the segregation of chromosomes into eggs is flawed, biologists have learned in a project done across three labs at the University of Oregon and Northwestern University.

In a paper published online Sept. 4 in the journal PLOS Genetics, researchers documented how the disruptions, as seen in basic research with microscopic roundworms (Caenorhabditis elegans), lead to a range of meiotic defects as the chromosomes are subjected to improper spindle forces.

Inaccurate chromosome segregation in humans is associated with Down syndrome and miscarriages. Such segregation defects as seen in the research can result in increased infertility, said UO biologist Diana E. Libuda, the study’s principal investigator.

“Over the past century, research has focused on making sure enough crossovers are made during sperm and egg development,” said Libuda, a professor in the UO’s Department of Biology and Institute of Molecular Biology. “It was known that developing sperm and eggs had ways to make sure that not too many crossovers are made, but it was unclear why.”

The research team identified two mechanisms that help counteract defects triggered by excess crossover activity in developing eggs and, thus, assist the coordination of the process that helps assure genomic integrity in new generations.

Libuda had reported in the Oct. 9, 2013, issue of Nature the discovery of a mechanism that inhibits the overproduction of crossovers in roundworms. However, Libuda said, it was not possible at that time to study the downstream effects in cases where too many crossovers did occur. Since then, her lab developed a way to generate extra crossovers on a single chromosome.

That ability led to a National Institutes of Health-funded collaboration with Sadie Wignall of Northwestern University, an expert on high-resolution imaging of structures involved in segregation of chromosomes into developing eggs. What Wignall found led Libuda back to Bruce Bowerman’s UO lab to take a look at chromosome segregation in live developing eggs.

“Overall, it was a great joining of scientific strengths to take a multipronged approach to answer this important question,” Libuda said.

The research provides fundamental insights that can guide research in other organisms to better understand the mechanisms and, eventually, lead to potential clinical applications.

“The same proteins that we are studying in C. elegans are also in humans,” Libuda said. “In fact, most proteins required for fertility are used across organisms that include yeast, fruit flies, nematodes, zebrafish, mice and humans. Research using these microscopic worms has been shown in numerous contexts to have relevance in human health. “

###

Co-authors with Libuda, Bowerman and Wignall on the paper were: Jeremy A. Hollis, a technician in Wignall’s lab; former UO biology undergraduate student Marissa L. Glover, now a doctoral student at the University of California, Santa Cruz; Aleesa J. Schlientz, who earned a doctorate from the UO this year; and Cori K. Cahoon, a postdoctoral researcher working in Libuda’s lab under a fellowship from the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research.

Media Contact: Jim Barlow, director of science and research communications, 541-346-3481, [email protected]

Related Links:

About Diana Libuda: http://molbio.uoregon.edu/libuda/

Libuda Lab: http://www.libudalab.org/

UO Department of Biology: https://biology.uoregon.edu/

UO Institute of Molecular Biology: http://molbio.uoregon.edu

About Bruce Bowerman: http://molbio.uoregon.edu/bowerman/

Wignall Lab: https://sites.northwestern.edu/wignall-lab/

Media Contact
Jim Barlow
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009001

Tags: BiologyDevelopmental/Reproductive BiologyFertilityMolecular Biology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Auditory Change Processing Markers Unusual in Autism

October 23, 2025

Innovative Center Pioneers Brighter Future for Trauma Survivors

October 23, 2025

Exploring Vicarious Trauma in Hospice Nurses

October 23, 2025

Assessing Muscularity Overvaluation and Eating Disorder Risks

October 23, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1277 shares
    Share 510 Tweet 319
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    308 shares
    Share 123 Tweet 77
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    167 shares
    Share 67 Tweet 42
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    132 shares
    Share 53 Tweet 33

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Auditory Change Processing Markers Unusual in Autism

Innovative Center Pioneers Brighter Future for Trauma Survivors

Exploring Vicarious Trauma in Hospice Nurses

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Success! An email was just sent to confirm your subscription. Please find the email now and click 'Confirm' to start subscribing.

Join 66 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.