Keith Jones

Biography

Meiosis is the name given to the two cell divisions germ cells go through following DNA replication in order to produce haploid gametes. Our research focuses on mammalian female meiosis where we use imaging based techniques (Fluorescent Protein chimeras) to explore this process in real-time. We argue that this is an important strategy when examining a dynamic process such as the meiotic cell cycle. Meiosis is important to study because of its unique cell division; in terms of understanding a fundamental cellular developmental biology process; and also because errors in meiotic division lead to aneuploid embryos, the leading cause of early pregnancy loss in humans and the cause of Down's Syndrome. Research Highlights: The mammalian oocyte spends most of its life arrested at prophase of the first meiotic division and we found that APCcdh1 activity was necessary in order to achieve this arrest (Reis et al., Nature Cell Biology, 2006). Recently we extended these observations to show that APCcdh1 also functioned in prometaphase to prevent aneuploidy in maturing oocytes (Reis et al., Nature Cell Biology, 2007). In the first meiotic division chromosome homologues are separated, a unique cell division, and in 2006 we found that during this division separase is needed to inhibit MPF activity (Gorr et al., Nature Cell Biology, 2006. See Nature Cell Biology, News & Views). Following exit from the first meiotic division the egg re-arrests at metaphase of the second meiotic division until sperm break this arrest with a cytosolic calcium signal. Re-arrest at metaphase of the second meiotic division requires the APC inhibitor Emi2 (Madgwick et al., Journal of Cell Biology, 2006).

Research Interest

Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine