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There are two popular and overlapping theories that explain the origins of crossing-over, coming from the different theories on the origin of meiosis.The first theory rests upon the idea that meiosis evolved as another method of DNA repair, and thus crossing-over is a novel way to replace possibly damaged sections of DNA. [9]
In genetics, the crossover value is the linked frequency of chromosomal crossover between two gene loci ().For a fixed set of genetic and environmental conditions, recombination in a particular region of a linkage structure tends to be constant and the same is then true for the crossover value which is used in the production of genetic maps.
Chromosomes condense further during the diakinesis stage, from Greek words meaning "moving through". [18]: 30 This is the first point in meiosis where the four parts of the tetrads are actually visible. Sites of crossing over entangle together, effectively overlapping, making chiasmata clearly visible.
Points of crossing over become visible as chiasma after the synaptonemal complex dissembles and the homologous chromosomes slightly apart from each other. The phenomenon of genetic chiasmata (chiasmatypie) was discovered and described in 1909 by Frans Alfons Janssens, a Professor at the University of Leuven in Belgium. [3] [4]
Genetic linkage is the tendency of DNA sequences that are close together on a chromosome to be inherited together during the meiosis phase of sexual reproduction.Two genetic markers that are physically near to each other are unlikely to be separated onto different chromatids during chromosomal crossover, and are therefore said to be more linked than markers that are far apart.
Resolution of the DNA recombination intermediate into a crossover exchanges DNA segments between the two homologous chromosomes at a site called a chiasma (plural: chiasmata). This physical strand exchange and the cohesion between the sister chromatids along each chromosome ensure robust pairing of the homologs in diplotene phase.
Unequal crossing over is the process most responsible for creating regional gene duplications in the genome. [1] Repeated rounds of unequal crossing over cause the homogenization of the two sequences. With the increase in the duplicates, unequal crossing over can lead to dosage imbalance in the genome and can be highly deleterious. [1] [2]
Meiotic recombination through crossing over is thought to be a mechanism by which a cell promotes correct segregation of homologous chromosomes and the repair of DNA damages. Crossing over requires a DNA double-stranded break followed by strand invasion of the homolog and subsequent repair. [ 3 ]