Cell biologists at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, together with colleagues, have now discovered a previously unknown structure in mammalian eggs that is indispensable for the error-free distribution of chromosomes.
When a new life begins, only half of the genetic information is provided by the egg, the other half comes from the sperm. To this end, the egg has to eliminate half of its chromosomes. This happens during a specialized cell division, called meiosis. This process, however, is error-prone: It can happen that too many or too few chromosomes remain in the egg, resulting in an embryo whose cells have an incorrect number of chromosomes. Such embryos…
