Genome instability is a major cause of cancer. Our lab is interested in mechanisms of maintaining genome stability and the consequences of genome instability. To learn more about these topics we use the model organism Drosophila melanogaster , the fruit fly.
Meiotic recombination is important in maintaining genome stability from one generation to the next.
Segregation of homologous chromosomes from one another, which is the basis of Mendelian genetics, depends on the formation of physical links between homologs. In most organisms, these links are established by meiotic recombination. However, not all recombination events can ensure proper segregation. Meiotic recombination is therefore highly regulated one a genome-wide scale and along each chromosome. The mechanisms by which this occurs are almost entirely unknown.