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Joined 2026-09-21 Message
Incoming links: Zip1
M. Sym 2026-11-05
M. Sym led a study identifying Zip1 as a component required for the synaptonemal complex in budding yeast. In the reported mutants, homologous chromosomes could become associated, but normal assembly of the connecting synaptonemal structure failed.[ref]
ZIP1 is a synaptonemal complex protein required for meiotic chromosome synapsis by M. Sym and others. 1993, abstract: paired homologues and defective synaptonemal-complex assembly
The experiment distinguished initial chromosome association from completion of chromosome synapsis. Those steps need not fail together. Combining a defined mutation with observations of chromosome structure made it possible to assign a role to a particular protein within a larger process of meiosis. The indexed byline is retained without guessing a full name.
Zip1 2026-11-05
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.