Oxidative Damage Leads to Errors in Meiotic Chromosome Segregation

Research done in Prof. Sharon Bickel's lab has demonstrated that oxidative damage causes a premature loss of sister chromatid cohesion and an increase in chromosome segregation errors in Drosophila oocytes during meiosis. 

In women, the probability of miscarriage or Down Syndrome increases dramatically with age.  Studies of maternal age effect indicate that errors in female meiosis contribute significantly to this age-related effect.  The research done by the Bickel lab demonstrates that if oxidative damage contributes to maternal age effect then reducing oxidative damage could be a strategy for reducing chromosome segregation errors during meiosis.

Professor Sharon Bickel, MCB graduate student Adrienne Perkins, Class of 2013 undergraduate researcher Thomas Das and second year MCB graduate student Lauren Panzera contributed to this work.  These findings were published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/10/12/1612047113.full

To read the Dartmouth news article, please go to https://news.dartmouth.edu/news/2016/10/dartmouth-study-offers-insight-womens-health-issue?utm_source=dhome&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=dhome_carousel1

Photo by Robert Gill