Context is everything: The role of polo-like kinase I during <i>C. elegans</i> oocyte meiosis

Meiotic chromosome segregation in oocytes often relies on meiosis-specific modifications of mitotic molecular mechanisms to respond to the unique challenges of this asymmetric division. In this issue, Narula and Wignall (https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202503080) demonstrate how the conserved polo-like kinase in Caenorhabditiselegans, PLK-1, has been repurposed in unexpected ways to ensure accurate meiotic chromosome segregation during oogenesis.