This release contains only the music track from Base by Base Episode 326.

Song title: Hold the Threads Together
Original Base by Base episode: 326: DUO-1 protects REC-8 cohesin and synaptonemal complex stability in Caenorhabditis elegans meiosis
Original episode link: https://basebybase.com/episodes/duo-1-c-elegans-meiosis

Article metadata:
Article title: Active maintenance of meiosis-specific chromosome structures in Caenorhabditis elegans by the deubiquitinase DUO-1
Journal: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2532671123
Reference: Strand LG, Choi CP, McCoy S, Nsamba ET, Silva N, Villeneuve AM. Active maintenance of meiosis-specific chromosome structures in Caenorhabditis elegans by the deubiquitinase DUO-1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2026;123(12):e2532671123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2532671123

Lyrics:
Verse 1
In the quiet germline, under cold blue light
Chromosomes line up, trying to get it right
Zippers of connection in a delicate embrace
Built for the long run, not a moment’s grace

Pre-Chorus
But nothing stays perfect just because it’s made
It has to be guarded where the bonds are laid
A steady hand keeps the pattern from the blur
Or everything unravels, molecule by molecule

Chorus
Hold the threads together, don’t let the scaffold fall
Keep the zipper steady down the whole long hall
When breaks ignite like sparks in the darkened zone
Make repair a pathway, not a pile of stone
Hold the threads together—through the turning time
So the genome leaves this night still whole, still prime

Verse 2
Take the keeper away and the structure shakes
Side-by-side becomes scattered, the order breaks
Cohesin slips off like a loosened seam
Sisters pull too early from the same old dream

Bridge
And the repair marks rise—too many signals flare
Early steps keep gathering, stuck in the air
So stay on station, reset what stress will bend
Maintain the architecture again and again

Final Chorus
Hold the threads together, don’t let the scaffold fall
Keep the zipper steady down the whole long hall
Shape the last compaction, make the ending clean
From open, fragile tangles to a tightened scene
Hold the threads together—keep the damage small
So tomorrow’s life can rise from it all