Title: The role Anaphase-Promoting Complex in co-ordinating the meiotic divisions of mammalian eggs
Subject: Reproductive Biology
Visiting Time: Oct 11 -15, 2009

Abstract:

Keith T. Jones is from University of Newcastle, Australia, as Professor and Chair in Human Physiology, and Co-Director of the University Priority Research Centre in Reproductive Biology. He managed a group of researchers with continual funding totaling nearly £1.5 million as Chief Investigator for 7 competitively funded external grants. His research team helped develop the use of Fluorescent Proteins to study the process of meiosis in real-time. This approach led to recent developments in the understanding of how the meiotic divisions are regulated.

The Anaphase-Promoting Complex (APC) is a large multimeric ubiquitin ligase: whose catalytic activity drives the cell cycle by inducing degradation of proteins at key discrete stages, notably at the metaphase-anaphase transition. We have discovered that the APC plays a vital role in the meiotic divisions of mammalian eggs, whereby its activity is needed to maintain key cell cycle arrest points and also to help prevent the mis-segregation of chromosomes that would otherwise lead to aneuploidy. We have focussed much of our study on the important APC activator CDH1 (FZR1; fizzy-related). We find that in mammalian eggs CDH1 plays a unique and fundamental role in controlling the meiotic divisions.

Further Information: Keith T. Jones... 

Prof. Keith T. Jones