This volume offers an extensive array of reviews on the roles of DNA repair proteins in meiotic recombination. The use of various organisms serves to underscore the marked degree of conservation of these processes among sexually reproducing organisms, but also highlights more subtle species-specific adaptations to meiotic recombination. Contributed by leaders in the field, each chapter reflects the current state of their research and also provides a forum for new ideas and concepts in meiotic recombination. By focussing on different pathways involved in meiosis and recombination, this volume highlights the complexity of these processes and demonstrates how much has been learned in recent years as a result of the multiple approaches to studying these events in various model organisms. Geneticists, cytogeneticists, developmental biologists, and those involved in research on infertility and germ cell biology will find much to interest them in this outstanding collection of reviews.

This fascinating volume addresses the processes and mechanisms taking place in the cell during meiosis and recombination. It covers multicellular eukaryotes such as Drosophila, Arabidopsis, mice and humans. Once per life cycle, mitotic nuclear divisions are replaced by meiosis I and II – reducing chromosome number from the diploid level to a haploid genome, reshuffling the homologous chromosomes by their centromeres, and recombining chromosome arms by crossing-over.

Meiosis is the key process underlying sexual reproduction in eukaryotes, occurring in single-celled eukaryotes and in most multicellular eukaryotes including animals and most plants. Thus meiosis is of considerable interest, both at the scientific level and at the level of natural human curiosity about sexual reproduction. Improved understanding of important aspects of meiosis has emerged in recent years and major questions are starting to be answered, such as: How does meiosis occur at the molecular level, How did meiosis and sex arise during evolution, What is the major adaptive function of meiosis and sex. In addition, changing perspectives on meiosis and sex have led to the question: How should meiosis be taught. This book proposes answers to these questions, with extensive supporting references to the current literature.

Meiosis is a key event in the life of all sexually reproductive organisms. As a consequence of recombination and segregation of maternal and paternal sets of chromosomes, it represents the largest natural source of genetic variability. The field of meiosis research is expanding rapidly, with significant progress resulting from the use of suitable model systems as well as from the identification and characterization of proteins, many of them meiosis-specific, which play a key role during meiotic events. This volume provides the reader with a series of authoritative review articles summarizing some of the most recent advances in the field of meiosis research. Most of the more commonly used model systems are investigated taking the comparative aspects into account. Written by leading experts in the field, the book is a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in genetics, cell and developmental biology, reproductive biology and andrology.

Meiosis, the process of forming gametes in preparation for sexual reproduction, has long been a focus of intense study. Meiosis has been studied at the cytological, genetic, molecular and cellular levels. Studies in model systems have revealed common underlying mechanisms while in parallel, studies in diverse organisms have revealed the incredible variation in meiotic mechanisms. This book brings together many of the diverse strands of investigation into this fascinating and challenging field of biology.

Textbook with descriptions on different topics on genetics. Each topic begins with a summary of essential facts followed by a description of the subject that foccusses on core information with clear and simple diagrams that are easy for students to understand and recall in essays and exams.