Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Frequency and Distribution of Crossovers in Caenorhabditis elegans Meiosis by SNP Genotyping using Real-time PCR
Published on: July 11, 2025
When specialized sites are important for synapsis and the distribution of crossovers
1Waksman Institute and Department of Genetics, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway NJ 08854, USA.
Abstract:
In C. elegans and D. melanogaster, specialized sites have an important role in meiotic recombination. Recent evidence has shown that these sites in C. elegans have a role in synapsis. Here we compare the initiation of synapsis in organisms with specialized sites and those without. We propose that, early in prophase, synapsis requires an initiator to overcome inhibitory factors that function to prevent synaptonemal complex (SC) formation between nonhomologous sequences. These initiators of SC formation can be stimulated by crossover sites, possibly other types of recombination sites and also specialized sites where recombination does not occur.
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