Objective
All animal life starts with the fertilization of an egg. A haploid egg and a haploid sperm fuse and together they form a new genetically unique embryo. But surprisingly, eggs frequently contain an incorrect number of chromosomes. Depending on the age of the woman, 10-50% of eggs are chromosomally abnormal. This high percentage of abnormal eggs results from chromosome segregation errors during oocyte maturation, the process by which a diploid oocyte matures into a haploid egg. Thus, errors during meiosis in human oocytes are the most common cause of pregnancy losses and contribute to approximately 95% of human aneuploidy such as Down’s syndrome. Surprisingly, we still know very little about how mammalian oocytes mature into eggs, and it is still unclear why chromosome segregation during meiosis is so much more error-prone than during mitosis.
My proposal combines three innovative and complementary approaches towards understanding how homologous chromosomes are segregated and why oocyte maturation in mammals is so error-prone. Specifically, we will work towards the following three aims: 1. We will complete the first large scale screen for genes required for accurate progression through meiosis in mammalian oocytes and characterize the function of a few selected genes in detail. 2. We will analyse meiosis and investigate potential causes of chromosome segregation errors directly in live human oocytes. 3. We will study the function of an F-actin spindle and a chromosome-associated myosin that might be required for chromosome segregation in mammalian oocytes.
Because errors during oocyte maturation lead to pregnancy loss, birth defects and infertility, this work will not only provide important insights into fundamental cellular mechanisms, but will also have important implications for human health.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine obstetrics
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics heredity
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics chromosomes
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine embryology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2013-StG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.