title: Solving a meiotic LEGO puzzle: transverse filaments and the assembly of the synaptonemal complex in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: The structure of the meiosis-specific synaptonemal complex, which is perhaps the central visible characteristic of meiotic prophase, has been a matter of intense interest for decades. Although a general picture of the interactions between the transverse filament proteins that create this structure has emerged from studies in a variety of organisms, a recent analysis of synaptonemal complex structure in Caenorhabditis elegans by Schild-Prüfert et al. (2011) has provided the clearest picture of the structure of the architecture of a synaptonemal complex to date. Although the transverse filaments of the worm synaptonemal complex are assembled differently then those observed in yeast, mammalian, and Drosophila synaptonemal complexes, a comparison of the four assemblies shows that achieving the overall basic structure of the synaptonemal complex is far more crucial than conserving the structures of the individual transverse filaments.
authors: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri 64110, USA. rsh@stowers.org
authors: R Scott
authors: RS
authors: Hawley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008540:Meiosis; D013573:Synaptonemal Complex / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins