Investigating the mechanisms regulating recombination during meiosis

Meiosis is essential for fertility in sexually reproducing organisms. During meiosis, recombination between the mother’s and father’s chromosomes is critical for the faithful segregation of chromosomes. Dr. Rajeev Kumar’s research aims to understand how the initiation of recombination is regulated in mammals. His work has identified key factors whose genetic ablation in mice leads to infertility. This study may provide a basic framework for delineating the molecular basis of certain cases of infertility and genetic disorders.
Sexual reproduction relies on the production of gametes (sperm and egg) containing one copy of the genome. Meiotic recombination is crucial for this reduction of genomic content in gametes. Errors in recombination have been linked with infertility and developmental disorders in humans. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) initiate meiotic recombination. How DSB formation is regulated is currently unclear. My postdoctoral work is focused on understanding the regulation of DSB formation in mammals. We recently identified MEI4 and REC114 orthologs from higher eukaryotes, and showed that MEI4 is essential for DSB formation and fertility in mouse.