Zip1 is a meiosis-associated protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that forms part of the central region of the synaptonemal complex. It helps build the scaffold between homologous chromosomes during chromosome synapsis; ZIP1 denotes the gene encoding it.[ref]
ZIP1 is a synaptonemal complex protein required for meiotic chromosome synapsis by M. Sym and others. 1993, abstract: meiosis-specific gene and central-region localization
In the original mutant study, homologous chromosomes could pair, but normal synaptonemal complex formation failed and the cells arrested before the first division of meiosis. Immunofluorescence using antibodies against Zip1 located the protein on synapsed chromosomes rather than on unsynapsed chromosome axes.[ref]
ZIP1 is a synaptonemal complex protein required for meiotic chromosome synapsis by M. Sym and others. Abstract: mutant pairing and arrest; anti-ZIP1 localization
Together, loss of function and localization connect a molecular component to a visible structure. Merely seeing two nearby homologues measures pairing; detecting a continuous synaptonemal complex asks a different structural question. That separation makes Zip1 useful for studying how chromosome synapsis relates to meiotic recombination.
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