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The stepwise destruction of specific proteins is necessary for the progression and completion of the cell cycle. Such proteins are ubiquitinated by ubiquitin ligases and then subsequently destroyed by the proteasome. The SCF (Skp1/Cullin/F-box) and the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) are two important ubiquitin ligases involved in cell cycle progression. While SCF is active throughout the cell cycle, APC gets activated during metaphase to anaphase transition. Cdc20 or Cdh1 binds to APC and...
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Super-Resolution Microscopy of the Synaptonemal Complex Within the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline
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The synaptonemal complex: structure, function, and clinical implications†.

Fang Yang1, P Jeremy Wang1

  • 1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Biology of Reproduction
|April 30, 2026
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The synaptonemal complex (SC) is crucial for meiosis, ensuring chromosome pairing and recombination. This review details its conserved structure, protein components, and roles in fertility disorders.

Keywords:
infertilitymeiosisnon-obstructive azoospermiapremature ovarian insufficiencyrecombinationrecurrent pregnancy losssynapsissynaptonemal complex

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Area of Science:

  • Meiosis and Reproductive Biology
  • Molecular and Cellular Biology

Background:

  • The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a protein structure essential for homologous chromosome pairing during meiosis.
  • Its tripartite architecture is conserved across species, playing key roles in synapsis, recombination, and segregation.
  • This review commemorates the 70th anniversary of the SC's discovery.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive overview of the synaptonemal complex (SC) structure and function.
  • To highlight the core and associated proteins involved in SC assembly and regulation.
  • To discuss the clinical relevance of SC dysfunction in human infertility.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on synaptonemal complex (SC) research.
  • Analysis of genetic, biochemical, and structural data of SC components.
  • Synthesis of information on SC's role in meiosis and its implications in human reproductive health.

Main Results:

  • The SC comprises eight core proteins (SYCP1-3, SYCE1-3, SIX6OS1, TEX12) forming lateral, central elements, and transverse filaments.
  • SC proteins, despite conserved structure, show low sequence homology across species.
  • Numerous accessory proteins associate with the SC, modulating its function and interacting with recombination factors like DMC1 and RAD51.

Conclusions:

  • The SC acts as a scaffold for homologous chromosome synapsis and regulates meiotic recombination and crossover formation.
  • Dysfunction of SC components is linked to human infertility conditions such as non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) and premature ovarian insufficiency (POI).
  • Continued research into SC assembly and function offers insights into reproductive health and disease.