NPKM · Identification of novel protein kinases required for meiosis

During meiosis, one round of DNA replication is followed by two rounds of cell division. This results in production of four haploid cells from a diploid precursor. Proteins required for this reduction of chromosome number are largely unknown. In this project, we want to identify novel proteins required for meiotic chromosome segregation. Protein kinases are the key cellular regulators and some of them are known to be essential for proper segregation of chromosomes during meiosis. We now want to look at protein kinases essential for mitotic growth and identify those required for chromosome segregation during meiosis. We want to take advantage of chemical genetics and construct conditional alleles of protein kinases sensitive to small molecule inhibitors (analog sensitive alleles). We want to use these alleles to determine which of protein kinases essential for mitotic growth are required for chromosome segregation during meiosis.