Question about meiosis

Question

number of chiasmata during the stage of diakinesis:

a) increases

b) decreases

c) remains the same

d) there is no kiazma

Explain the answer

Answer 1

Hi Elena,

To answer this question let’s start by defining the terms chiasmata and diakinesis.

Chiasmata: the region(s) on a homologous pair where crossing over occurs, first formed during the patchytene stage of prophase 1 (the 3rd stage of 6) Chiasmata first become visible in the next stage (diplotene) as the homologous pairs begin to separate. Chiasmata remain present until anaphase 1, when microtubules pull the homologous pair apart.

Diakinesis: the fifth stage of prophase 1, in which the four parts of the tetrads are visible and the sites of crossing over are entangled, making chiasmata clearly visible.

With these definitions we can say that the number of chiasmata during diakinesis remains the same.