Recombination and Meiosis: Crossing-Over and Disjunction

Once per life cycle, mitotic nuclear divisions are replaced by meiosis I and II – reducing chromosome number from the diploid level to a haploid genome, reshuffling the homologous chromosomes by their centromeres, and recombining chromosome arms by crossing-over. In animals, including humans, all this happens during the germ cell formation of eggs and sperm. Due to the reign of meiosis, no child is a true genetic copy of either parent. Central to mainstream meiosis, the mechanisms of recipr...