Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Chromosome Recognition in Meiosis I 
Name: Raveed
Status: Student
Grade:  Other
Location: Outside U.S.
Country: Pakistan
Date: January 2009
Question:
How does the homologous chromosomes recognize each other in Meisosi I pairings?


Replies:
That is a great question. The research is showing that each chromosome unzips a small region of its DNA and they bind together there because of opposite base pairing. There seem to be enzymes that coordinate this process.

vanhoeck

My guess would be by base pairing between the sense strand of one chromosome and the anti-sense strand of the homologous chromosome. This assumes that the strands of each of the homologous chromosomes unwind and are available for Hydrogen bonding to a complementary strand using the Watson-Crick rules for base pairing (A-T & G-C). This base pairing between complementary strands of homologous chromosomes is probably the physical basis for crossing-over between homologous chromosomes.

Ron Baker, Ph.D.


Click here to return to the Molecular Biology Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory