Amongst the different proteins that mediate chromosomal structural changes, the SMC related complexes condensin are recognized as the universal organizer of chromosomes. Condensin complexes play roles in macroscale chromosome organization and they also contribute to various physiological processes including DNA recombination and repair in mitotic and meiotic cells. However, despite the importance of HR for the control of genomic stability during meiosis, this function of condensin in early meiosis I remains poorly studied. Thus, by developing different complementary approaches, we aim at characterizing the function of condensin in the regulation of early meiosis I events and in particular in the control of structural reorganization of the chromosomes and homologous recombination in the mouse.
Our first aim is to develop biochemical approaches to characterize in vitro the structure and function of the different condensin complexes involved in early prophase I meiotic events and to analyze their relationship with recombination protein factors. Our second aim is to characterize in vivo the role of these complexes during mouse meiosis. Genetic approaches, combined with genome wide and cytological approaches are used to address this question. Altogether these approaches are designed to get a comprehensive view of the role of condensin in meiotic prophase I.