Meiosis is a key event of sexual life cycles in eukaryotes. Its mechanistic details have been
uncovered in several model organisms, and most of its essential features have received …

Meiosis presents many important mysteries that await elucidation. Here we discuss two such
aspects. First, we consider how the current meiotic program might have evolved. We …

The centromere represents a single region in most eukaryotic chromosomes. However,
several plant and animal lineages assemble holocentromeres along the entire chromosome …

Crossover recombination reshuffles genes and prevents errors in segregation that lead to
extra or missing chromosomes (aneuploidy) in human eggs, a major cause of pregnancy …

Female‐producing parthenogenesis can be induced by endosymbionts that increase their
transmission by manipulating host reproduction. Our literature survey indicates that such …

According to Mendel's second law, chromosomes segregate randomly in meiosis. Non-
random segregation is primarily known for cases of selfish meiotic drive in females, in which …

Holocentric chromosomes lack a primary constriction, in contrast to monocentrics. They form
kinetochores distributed along almost the entire poleward surface of the chromatids, to …

Comparisons among a variety of eukaryotes have revealed considerable variability in the
structures and processes involved in their meiosis. Nevertheless, conventional forms of …

Centromeres strongly affect (epi) genomic architecture and meiotic recombination dynamics,
influencing the overall distribution and frequency of crossovers. Here we show how …

Chromosomal rearrangements (eg, fusions/fissions) have the potential to drive speciation.
However, their accumulation in a population is generally viewed as unlikely, because …