Research Interests and Representative Publications
Research Interests
Mammalian Germ Cells and Meiosis
Research Summary
Research in Patricia Hunt’s laboratory focuses on mammalian germ cell development with the aim of increasing understanding of the genetic control of sex determination and of the meiotic process in mammals. The research involves studies of both humans and mice.
Researchers are conducting studies of human oocytes in association with the Department of Reproductive Biology at University Hospitals. The aim of this research is to elucidate the basis of the maternal age effect in the human female; that is, to determine why, as women age, they are at an increased risk of producing chromosomally abnormal children. Although scientists know that the maternal age effect is the result of meiotic errors in the egg and that most errors occur during the completion of the first meiotic division (around the time of ovulation), the mechanism by which age increases the frequency of errors remains unknown. Recent studies in Dr. Hunt’s laboratory suggest that, with increasing age, the growth process of the human oocyte may become perturbed (Volarcik et al., 1998). Hence one goal of the research is to understand how changes in the environment in which the oocyte undergoes its final growth and maturation effect the meiotic process.
In addition, Dr. Hunt and her colleagues are studying a number of different mouse mutants to understand the genetic control of the meiotic cell cycle in mammals and the factors that influence meiotic chromosome alignment and segregation. These studies make use of new techniques for the in vitro growth of murine follicles, the production of chimeric ovaries, the analysis of meiotic cell cycle progression and the analysis of meiotic chromosome behavior. Recent studies conducted by the lab suggest that the control of mammalian female meiosis differs in fundamental respects from both male meiosis and mitosis and that these differences may provide a key to understanding the high error rate in female meiosis (LeMaire-Adkins et al., 1997).
Representative Publications
Cherry SM, Hunt PA, Hassold TJ. (2004) Cisplatin disrupts mammalian spermatogenesis, but does not affect recombination or chromosome segregation. Mutat Res. 564(2):115-28.
Hunt PA, Koehler KE, Susiarjo M, Hodges CA, Ilagan A, Voigt RC, Thomas
S, Thomas BF, Hassold TJ. (2003) Bisphenol a exposure causes meiotic aneuploidy in the female mouse. Curr Biol. 13(7):546-53.
Koehler KE, Millie EA, Cherry JP, Burgoyne PS, Evans EP, Hunt PA, Hassold TJ. (2002) Sex-specific differences in meiotic chromosome segregation revealed by dicentric bridge resolution in mice. Genetics. 162(3):1367-79.
Hodges CA, Hunt PA.(2002) Simultaneous analysis of chromosomes and chromosome-associated proteins in mammalian oocytes and embryos.
Chromosoma. 111(3):165-9.
Koehler KE, Cherry JP, Lynn A, Hunt PA, Hassold TJ. (2002) Genetic control of mammalian meiotic recombination. I. Variation in exchange frequencies among males from inbred mouse strains. Genetics. 162(1):297-306.
Bean CJ, Hassold TJ, Judis L, Hunt PA. (2002) Fertilization in vitro increases non-disjunction during early cleavage divisions in a mouse model system.
Hum Reprod. 17(9):2362-7.
Hunt PA, Hassold TJ. (2002) Sex matters in meiosis. Science. 296(5576):2181-3. Review.
Lynn A, Koehler KE, Judis L, Chan ER, Cherry JP, Schwartz S, Seftel A, Hunt PA, Hassold TJ. (2002) Covariation of synaptonemal complex length and mammalian meiotic exchange rates. Science. 296(5576):2222-5. Epub 2002 Jun 06.
Hodges CA, Ilagan A, Jennings D, Keri R, Nilson J, Hunt PA. (2002) Experimental evidence that changes in oocyte growth influence meiotic chromosome segregation. Hum Reprod. 17(5):1171-80.
Hodges CA, LeMaire-Adkins R, Hunt PA. (2001) Coordinating the segregation of sister chromatids during the first meiotic division: evidence for sexual dimorphism. J Cell Sci. 114(Pt 13):2417-26.
Bean CJ, Hunt PA, Millie EA, Hassold TJ. (2001) Analysis of a malsegregating mouse Y chromosome: evidence that the earliest cleavage divisions of the mammalian embryo are non-disjunction-prone. Hum Mol Genet. 10(9):963-72.
LeMaire-Adkins R, Hunt PA. (2000) Nonrandom segregation of the mouse univalent X chromosome: evidence of spindle-mediated meiotic drive. Genetics. 156(2):775-83.
Lecture Details
Download Dr. Hunt's powerpoint presentation (12 MB)
More about Dr. Hunt
Research Interests and Representative Publications
Other Resources
Heading using the h3tag
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.