title: The colocalization transition of homologous chromosomes at meiosis.
abstract: Meiosis is the specialized cell division required in sexual reproduction. During its early stages, in the mother cell nucleus, homologous chromosomes recognize each other and colocalize in a crucial step that remains one of the most mysterious of meiosis. Starting from recent discoveries on the system molecular components and interactions, we discuss a statistical mechanics model of chromosome early pairing. Binding molecules mediate long-distance interaction of special DNA recognition sequences and, if their concentration exceeds a critical threshold, they induce a spontaneous colocalization transition of chromosomes, otherwise independently diffusing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Complexity Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nicodemi
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Panning
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prisco
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D023902:Chromosome Pairing; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D004249:DNA Damage; D004330:Drosophila; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008540:Meiosis; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D004247:DNA