The Drosophila meiotic kleisin C(2)M functions before the meiotic divisions.

Stepwise and regionally controlled resolution of sister chromatid cohesion is thought to be crucial for faithful chromosome segregation during meiotic divisions. In yeast, the meiosis-specific alpha-kleisin subunit of the cohesin complex, Rec8, is protected from cleavage by separase but only during meiosis I and specifically within the pericentromeric region. While the Drosophila genome does not contain an obvious Rec8 orthologue, as other animal and plant genomes, it includes c(2)M, which encodes a distant alpha-kleisin family member involved in female meiosis.