Cytological Characterization of Zea Mays During Prophase 1 of Meiosis

Genetic recombination depends on several factors during meiosis. One of these factors is the occurrence of double strand breaks (DSB’s) which occur during leptotene of prophase I. The goal of my project was the cytological characterization of specific proteins during the several sub phases of prophase 1. In particular, I studied and determined the number of co localizations of the protein complex DMC1/RAD51 during leptotene between wild type and the mutant variety SEGII of maize. My assistance on this project determined that there were less co localizations on SEGII than in wild type.