# Purchase of a STEDYCON, multi-color super-resolution STED microscope

> **NIH NIH R35** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2020 · $250,000

## Abstract

Chromosome segregation during meiosis places one chromosome, either the maternal or
paternal copy, in each gamete. Accurate segregation of genetic material requires that the parental
chromosomes interact with one another and exchange genetic information through the formation
of crossovers. Failure to make crossovers leads to errors in meiotic chromosome segregation,
and consequently to infertility and congenital birth defects. My ESI-MIRA award funds research
that addresses the mechanisms of chromosome interaction and segregation.
 The molecular mechanisms that allow chromosomes to form, regulate, and respond to
crossovers are poorly understood. The main project in the lab explores how the Synaptonemal
Complex (SC)—a conserved structure that assembles between the parental chromosomes and
regulates the distribution of crossovers—implements chromosome-wide regulation. We have
developed a novel mutagenesis and genetic screening strategy to isolate separation-of-function
mutations that perturb specific properties of the SC. The mutants we isolated so far allowed us to
define a domain that regulates how the SC brings together the maternal and paternal
chromosomes and aligns them.
 While we have already learned a great deal about our mutants through cytology and genetics,
how these mutations impact the SC ultrastructure or the organization of the SC subunits remains
unknown. The dimensions of the SC (~100nm) cannot be resolved by confocal microscopy. In the
request for an Administrative Supplement, I am asking for a super-resolution microscopy system.
This system works similarly to a confocal microscope, but can deliver resolutions as high as 30nm.
This enhanced resolution will allow us to probe the ultrastructure of the SC in our mutants, while
maintaining contextual knowledge on chromosome morphology and the localization of different
subunits. The information we will obtain will allow us to link the ultrastructure of the SC to the
functions it carries out.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10134579
- **Project number:** 3R35GM128804-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** Ofer Rog
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $250,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10134579

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10134579, Purchase of a STEDYCON, multi-color super-resolution STED microscope (3R35GM128804-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10134579. Licensed CC0.

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