A process that occurs during prophase I of meiosis, where homologous chromosomes exchange genetic material through the breaking and rejoining of DNA strands, resulting in new combinations of genetic material on each homologous chromosome.
Homologous chromosomes
Chromosomes that have the same genes in the same order, but may have different alleles. They pair up and exchange genetic material during crossing over in meiosis.
Meiosis
A type of cell division that results in the formation of haploid cells (gametes) from a diploid cell (parent cell). It involves two main stages: meiosis I and meiosis II.
Meiosis II
The second stage of meiosis, where each haploid daughter cell from meiosis I divides again to form two more haploid daughter cells, resulting in a total of four haploid cells.
Meiosis I
The first stage of meiosis, where a diploid cell divides into two haploid daughter cells through a series of steps: prophase I, metaphase I, anaphase I, and telophase I.