Reactome | Meiosis

Meiosis

Stable Identifier

R-HSA-1500620

Type

Pathway

Species

Homo sapiens

Compartment

nuclear envelope, nucleoplasm

ReviewStatus

5/5

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During meiosis the replicated chromosomes of a single diploid cell are segregated into 4 haploid daughter cells by two successive divisions, meiosis I and meiosis II. In meiosis I, the distinguishing event of meiosis, pairs (bivalents) of homologous chromosomes in the form of sister chromatids are paired by synapsis along their regions of homologous DNA (Yang and Wang 2009), and then segregated, resulting in haploid daughters containing sister chromatids paired at their centromeres (Cohen et al. 2006, Handel and Schimenti 2010). The sister chromatids are then separated and segregated during meiosis II.

Recombination between chromosomal homologues but not between sister chromatids occurs during prophase of meiosis I (Inagaki et al. 2010). Though hundreds of recombination events are initiated, most are resolved without crossovers and only tens proceed to become crossovers. In mammals recombination events are required between homologues for normal pairing, synapsis, and segregation.

Literature References

PubMed ID	Title	Journal	Year
18948708	The Mammalian synaptonemal complex: a scaffold and beyond Wang, PJ, Yang, F	Genome Dyn	2009
20364103	DNA double strand break repair, chromosome synapsis and transcriptional silencing in meiosis Schoenmakers, S, Inagaki, A, Baarends, WM	Epigenetics	2010
20051984	Genetics of mammalian meiosis: regulation, dynamics and impact on fertility Schimenti, JC, Handel, MA	Nat Rev Genet	2010
16543383	Genetic analysis of chromosome pairing, recombination, and cell cycle control during first meiotic prophase in mammals Pollack, SE, Pollard, JW, Cohen, PE	Endocr Rev	2006