Does crossing over always occur in meiosis?
The short answer is no. In some species, such as plants and insects, meiosis does not occur. Instead, their chromosomes pair up and exchange genetic material through a process called transvection. By contrast, in many other species, like humans and most other mammals, meiosis does occur. In these species, the chromosomes pair up and exchange genetic material, and the resulting products are then recombined to form the final set of chromosomes.
Does crossing over always occur at meiosis?
One of the reasons why many people are interested in learning about meiosis is because they want to understand whether or not crossover is absolutely necessary for the creation of gametes. If there is no crossover, then the two sex chromosomes would end up with very few genetic combinations from each parent, which could result in infertility or sex chromosomal disorders. The answer to whether or not crossover is absolutely necessary is no. Crossover doesn't happen in every meiosis, and there are species, such as the
Does meiosis always undergo crossing over?
Researchers have found that in some species of yeasts and plants, meiosis does not always undergo crossover. In species where crossover does not occur, it is usually because the chromosomes are too tightly packed together. This can help to ensure that an egg or sperm cell receives one copy of each chromosome. If there were crossover, then the sperm or egg would carry two copies of the same chromosome.
Do meiotic cells always undergo crossing over?
Not always, in fact, only a small percentage of the meiotic chromosomes will undergo crossover, while the rest will frequently undergo this process called non-crossing over. If a pair of chromosomes does not undergo crossover at all, then they will remain attached to one another, and will result in an abnormal chromosome number in the resulting gamete.
Does meiosis always undergo crossing over in humans?
Humans have many types of chromosomes, so the need for crossing over is lessened. However, crossover does occur in humans for the sex chromosomes. In males, the pair of sex chromosomes is a single chromosome, called the Y chromosome. Humans usually have one copy of the Y chromosome from each parent. During meiosis, the Y chromosome cannot undergo recombination, so the two copies of the Y chromosome from a male parent are still together. If a sperm cell that has one copy of the Y chromosome