The enigmatic meiotic dense body and its newly discovered component, SCML1, are dispensable for fertility and gametogenesis in mice.

ABSTRACT: Meiosis is a critical phase in the life cycle of sexually reproducing organisms. Chromosome numbers are halved during meiosis, which requires meiosis-specific modification of chromosome behaviour. Furthermore, suppression of transposons is particularly important during meiosis to allow the transmission of undamaged genomic information between generations. Correspondingly, specialized genome defence mechanisms and nuclear structures characterize the germ line during meiosis. Survival of mammalian spermatocytes requires that the sex chromosomes form a distinct silenced chromatin domain, called the sex body. An enigmatic spherical DNA-negative structure, called the meiotic dense body, forms in association with the sex body. The dense body contains small non-coding RNAs including microRNAs and

SUBMITTER: Papanikos F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7326603 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature