Patricia Hunt Meyer Distinguished Professor School of Molecular Biosciences Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-4660   Phone:509-335-4954 Fax: 509-335-9688 Email:pathunt@wsu.edu   Ph.D. University of Hawaii ­ Reproductive Biology, 1983 M.S. University of Hawaii ­ Genetics, 1979 B.A. Michigan State University ­ Genetics, 1977 RESEARCH INTERESTS: Mammalian Germ Cells and Meiosis.   RESEARCH SUMMARY: Research in the Hunt laboratory focuses on mammalian germ cells. With a major emphasis on meiosis, the specialized cell division that gives rise to the haploid germ cells. In the human female the incidence of pregnancy loss due to chromosome abnormalities is extraordinarily high. This is a reflection of the fact that the meiotic process is highly error-prone and the incidence of errors in women is strongly influenced by age. Thus, a major research focus is on understanding the control of the normal meiotic process in the mammalian female, the mechanisms(s) by which errors occur, and the way in which age influences female meiosis. In addition, a serendipitous finding that resulted from an accidental exposure in our animal facility, has led to a new avenue of research for the Hunt laboratory. The inadvertent exposure of our mice to the estrogen mimic, bisphenol A (BPA) from damaged caging materials (polycarbonate cages and water bottles) led to the realization that environmentally relevant doses of BPA cause meiotic disruption and aneuploidy in the mouse. Current studies focus on determining the reproductive effects of exposure to chemicals with estrogenic activity during different developmental time points.   REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS: Lynn, A., Schrump, St. Cherry, J., Hassold, T, Hunt, P. Sex, not genotype, determines recombination levels in mice, American Journal of Human Genetics, 77:670-675, 2005. Hodges, C.A., Revenkova, E., Jessberger, R., Hassold, T.J., Hunt, P.A., SMC1b-deficient female mice provide evidence that cohesins are a missing link in age-related nondisjunction, Nature Genetics 37(12):1351-1355, 2005 Hall, H., Hunt, P., Hassold, T., Meiosis and sex chromosome aneuploidy: how meiotic errors cause aneuploidy, how aneuploidy causes meiotic errors, Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, in press. Koehler, K.E., Schrump, S.E., Cherry, J.P., Hassold, T.J., Hunt, P.A., Maternal age-dependent aneuploidy in female mice with homeologous chromosomes, Current Biology, accepted pending revision 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.