Recent studies in diverse eukaryotes have implicated a family of nuclear envelope proteins containing SUN domains as key components of meiotic nuclear organization and chromosome dynamics. In many cases, these transmembrane proteins are also known to contribute to centrosome or spindle pole body function in mitotically dividing cells. During meiotic prophase, the apparent role of these SUN-domain proteins, together with their partner KASH-domain proteins, is to connect chromosomes through the intact nuclear envelope to force-generating mechanisms in the cytoplasm.