In a study appearing in PLOS Genetics, Professor Sean Burgess and her colleagues highlight how mutations in a gene called spo11 can lead to zebrafish males that are infertile and females that produce offspring with developmental problems.

For her work in teaching and mentorship, Professor JoAnne Engebrecht, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, was awarded the 2017-2018 College of Biological Sciences Faculty Teaching Award.

This year, members of the College of Biological Sciences received three special recognitions: the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and two Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research. Earlier this month, the recipients gathered with UC Davis Chancellor Gary May to receive their awards.

Where would we be without meiosis and recombination? For a start, none of us sexually reproducing organisms would be here, because that’s how sperm and eggs are made. And when meiosis doesn’t work properly, it can lead to infertility, miscarriage, birth defects and developmental disorders. Neil Hunter’s laboratory at the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences is teasing out the complex details of how meiosis works.