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Updated: May 24, 2026

Super-Resolution Microscopy of the Synaptonemal Complex Within the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline
Published on: September 13, 2022
The mammalian synaptonemal complex: protein components, assembly and role in meiotic recombination
Johanna Fraune1, Sabine Schramm, Manfred Alsheimer
1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany.
Abstract:
The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a proteinaceous structure of chromosome bivalents whose assembly is indispensable for the successful progression of the first meiotic division of sexually reproducing organisms. In this mini-review we will focus on recent progress dealing with the composition and assembly of the mammalian SC. These advances mainly resulted from the systematic use of knockout mice for all known mammalian SC proteins as well as from protein polymerization studies performed in heterologous systems.
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