Meiosis lies at the heart of sexual reproduction, ensuring the reshuffling of genetic material across generations to promote genetic diversity. The SFB investigates how meiotic recombination and chromosome segregation are molecularly controlled, and how meiotic programs can be repurposed in organisms that reproduce asexually. Alongside coordinator Verena Jantsch-Plunger, the consortium includes Perutz Group Leaders Chris Campbell, Alex Dammermann, Joao Matos, and Peter Schlögelhofer, as well as Irene Tiemann-Boege (JKU Linz) and Beatriz Vicoso (ISTA). New members Simone Köhler (EMBL Heidelberg) and Frédéric Berger (GMI) and the collaboration with the technology platform provided by Sven Klumpe (IMBA/IMP) further strengthen the consortium by bringing in expertise in quantitative high resolution imaging analysis, AlphaFold structural prediction and cryo-electron tomography.
The strength of the SFB ‘Meiosis’ lies in bringing together complementary techniques and model systems, enabling the consortium to address fundamental questions that no individual lab could answer on its own. The prolonged funding period will allow the consortium to further strengthen these collaborations, integrate new high-resolution imaging and computational approaches, and build on the critical mass of expertise present at the Max Perutz Labs.