Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Preparation of Meiotic Chromosome Spreads from Mouse Oocytes for Assessment of Synapsis and Recombination
Published on: July 18, 2025
Cohesin axis maturation and presence of RAD51 during first meiotic prophase in a true bug
Alberto Viera1, Juan Luis Santos, María Teresa Parra
1Departamento de Biología, Edificio de Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
We have analyzed in a true bug, Graphosoma italicum (Pentatomidae, Hemiptera), the temporal and functional relationships between recombination events, synapsis progression, and SMC1alpha and SMC3 cohesin axis maturation throughout the male first meiotic prophase. The localization of the histone variant histone H3 trimethylated at lysine 9 at chromosome ends has allowed us to determine the association of these heterochromatic domains through prophase I stages. Results highlighted that cohesins provide to be good markers for synapsis progression since the formation, morphology, and development of the SMC1alpha and SMC3 cohesin axes resemble the synaptonemal complex dynamics and, also, that in this species the initiation of recombination precedes synapsis. In addition, we have carried out an accurate cytological characterization of the diffuse stage, which takes place after pachytene, and also analyzed the presence of the cohesin subunits, SMC1alpha and SMC3, and the recombinase RAD51 at this stage. The mechanisms underlying the absence of SMC1alpha and SMC3 axes from the diffuse stage onwards are discussed.
More Related Videos
07:48Use of Time-Lapse Microscopy and Stage-Specific Nuclear Depletion of Proteins to Study Meiosis in S. cerevisiae
Published on: October 11, 2022
12:46Using Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) to Monitor the State of Arm Cohesion in Prometaphase and Metaphase I Drosophila Oocytes
Published on: December 6, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Meiosis II
The timing and cell division patterns of meiosis differ between males and females. In male meiosis, the centrosomes are part of the formation of the meiotic spindle. However, in oocytes, including that of humans, Drosophila,...
Meiosis II
Meiosis II
The timing and cell division patterns of meiosis differ between males and females. In male meiosis, the centrosomes are part of the formation of the meiotic spindle. However, in oocytes, including that of humans, Drosophila,...
Cohesins
Cohesin complexes in Meiotic Division
Meiosis involves two distinct rounds of chromosomal segregation and cell divisions— Meiosis I followed by Meiosis II – producing four daughter cells. Meiosis I includes the separation of homologous...
Meiosis I
Prophase I is the most extended and complex step of meiosis I characterized by synapsis, chromosome pairing, and recombination of the homologous chromosomes. This process is facilitated by a proteinaceous structure called the...
Meiosis I