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Identification and Characterization of mel-43 in C. elegans
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- Author / Creator
- Ataeian, Maryam
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In the newly fertilized embryo, meiotic and mitotic spindles form
consecutively within the same egg cytoplasm. The order of events during
this transition is controlled, in part, via the regulation of the microtubule
cytoskeleton. Herein, I show that mel-43 is part of a small paralogous
gene family that is required to specify the meiosis II program of cell
division in the fertilized egg. RNAi of mel-43 and paralogues resulted in
failed meiosis I polar body extrusion, followed by direct entry into mitotic
prophase. Furthermore, the dominant maternal-effect mutation mel-
43(sb41) showed a meiosis-to-mitosis transition delay and a failure to
segregate chromatids that exhibited persistent REC-8/kleisin
immunostaining. Anti-MEL-43 antibodies showed that the MEL-43
proteins exhibited high cytoplasmic levels in meiosis as well as a fibrous
staining pattern in the midzone of the anaphase spindle. The protein
levels were reduced after meiosis, and this was dependent on the CUL-
2/ZYG-11 E3 ligase complex. -
- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Spring 2013
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.