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HEREDITAS ›› 2012, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (2): 167-176.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1005.2012.00167

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Organization, function and genetic controlling of synaptonemal complex

XIE Wen-Jun1, SHI Dian-Yi1, CAI Ze-Xi1, CHEN Xiao-Yang2, JIN Wei-Wei1   

  1. 1. National Maize Improvement Center of China, Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement and Genome of Ministry of Agricul-ture, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China 2. College of Agriculture, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
  • Received:2011-06-13 Revised:2011-08-15 Online:2012-02-20 Published:2012-02-25

Abstract: The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a super protein lattice that connects paired homologous chromosomes in most meiotic systems. This special organization is related to the meiosis processes such as homologous chromosomes pairing, synapsis, recombination, segregation, etc. Flaws of it would lead the meiocytes to apoptosis, which contributes to sterility. In recent years, the study of this complex has been a hotspot in meiosis research, but little was known about its exact mechanism. This review summarized the organization, function, and genetics of this complex with recent advances. Prospects of its further study were also briefly discussed.

Key words: synaptonemal complex, alignment, pairing, recombination, meiosis, sterility