In a study that is groundbreaking for its results and methods, Assistant Professor Hong-Guo Yu and research technician Hui Jin of the Department of Biological Science have found that when the protein Pds5 is removed from the cell division process (meiosis), chromosomes do not pair up properly. And when chromosomes do not pair up properly, birth defects such as Down syndrome can result.

“In order to observe what happened when the Pds5 went missing from the process, we performed a ‘molecular genetics trick’ that had never been applied to this particular protein before, and it worked,” Yu said. “We successfully engineered yeast cells that shut down Pds5 only during meiosis, but not when they were vegetative.”

The study was published in the Sept. 7, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. “Long term, we hope to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind chromosomal birth defects and see our research contribute to the creation of targeted interventions during meiosis,” Yu added. Another author of the paper is Vincent Guacci, a postdoc at the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

To read more, go to http://www.fsu.edu/news/2009/09/16/birth.defects/