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Related Concept Videos

Crossing Over01:34

Crossing Over

Unlike mitosis, meiosis aims for genetic diversity in its creation of haploid gametes. Dividing germ cells first begin this process in prophase I, where each chromosome—replicated in S phase—is now composed of two sister chromatids (identical copies) joined centrally.
The homologous pairs of sister chromosomes—one from the maternal and one from the paternal genome—then begin to align alongside each other lengthwise, matching corresponding DNA positions in a process called synapsis.
In order to...
Crossing Over01:30

Crossing Over

Crossing over is the exchange of genetic information between homologous chromosomes during prophase I of meiosis I. Genetic recombination gives rise to allelic diversity in the newly formed daughter cells. In humans, crossing over produces genetically distinct haploid egg and sperm cells that undergo fertilization to produce unique offspring. Before cell division starts, the germ cell’s chromosome(s) undergo duplication in the S phase of the cell cycle. As the cells enter prophase I, duplicated...
Nondisjunction01:29

Nondisjunction

During meiosis, chromosomes occasionally separate improperly. This occurs due to failure of homologous chromosome separation during meiosis I or failed sister chromatid separation during meiosis II. In some species, notably plants, nondisjunction can result in an organism with an entire additional set of chromosomes, which is called polyploidy. In humans, nondisjunction can occur during male or female gametogenesis and the resulting gametes possess one too many or one too few chromosomes.
Nondisjunction01:21

Nondisjunction

Nondisjunction is the failure of homologous chromosomes or sister chromatids to separate correctly and move to the opposite poles of the cells. This produces daughter cells with abnormal chromosome numbers.  Nondisjunction is common during anaphase I or anaphase II of meiosis.  Mutations in synaptonemal complex proteins that attach homologous chromosomes increase the chances of nondisjunction in anaphase I of meiosis I. In contrast, mutations in topoisomerases and condensins that hold sister...
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance02:30

Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance

Diploid organisms inherit genetic material through chromosomes from both parents. Copies of the same gene are known as alleles. In most cases, both alleles are simultaneously expressed and allow various cellular processes to function optimally. If one of the alleles is missing or mutated, the expression of the other allele can compensate; however, this is not true for all genes.
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
Meiosis I01:49

Meiosis I

Meiosis is a carefully orchestrated set of cell divisions, the goal of which—in humans—is to produce haploid sperm or eggs, each containing half the number of chromosomes present in somatic cells elsewhere in the body. Meiosis I is the first such division, and involves several key steps, among them: condensation of replicated chromosomes in diploid cells; the pairing of homologous chromosomes and their exchange of information; and finally, the separation of homologous chromosomes by a...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Manipulation of Ploidy in Caenorhabditis elegans
07:54

Manipulation of Ploidy in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: March 15, 2018

Making a functional diploid: from polysomic to disomic inheritance.

S C Le Comber1, M L Ainouche, A Kovarik

  • 1Queen Mary University of London, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, London E1 4NS, UK.

The New Phytologist
|December 24, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Genetic drift, not pairing genes, drives the evolution of disomic inheritance in polyploids. Subfunctionalization and neofunctionalization accelerate this transition, while recombination slows it.

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Last Updated: Jun 17, 2026

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Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Polyploid speciation involves a poorly understood shift from polysomic to disomic inheritance.
  • Recent research highlights the potential role of pairing genes in this evolutionary transition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the factors influencing the evolution of disomic inheritance in polyploids.
  • To determine if pairing gene evolution is essential for this transition.
  • To assess the impact of recombination, gene duplication, and selection on inheritance patterns.

Main Methods:

  • Computer simulations were employed to model polyploid evolution over 10,000 generations.
  • Simulations incorporated genetic drift, mutations, chromosomal inversions, chiasma frequency, neofunctionalization, subfunctionalization, and selection.
  • Key parameters analyzed included pairing gene evolution, recombination rates, and gene duplication mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Disomic inheritance can be established by genetic drift and a threshold for homologue pairing fidelity, without requiring pairing gene evolution.
  • High recombination rates necessitate more generations for disomic inheritance to stabilize.
  • Neofunctionalization and subfunctionalization significantly accelerate the transition to disomic inheritance.

Conclusions:

  • Selection favors reduced chiasma number or more focused distribution during polyploid establishment.
  • Subfunctionalization emerges as a driver of disomic inheritance.
  • Genomic subfunctionalization may maintain syntenic gene blocks, explaining conserved genomic regions.