Meiosis ProphaseI I

Chromosomes coil tightly & are visible. Nuclear membrane & nucleolus disintegrate. Spindle forms. The homologous chromosomes approach each other and pair together and this phenomenon is called Synapsis. Then each homologous chromosomes split longitudinally into two chromatids. The two chromatids of a single chromosome are attached by a single centromere. The homologous chromosome with two chromatids is called a bivalent. The four chromatids of the two homologous chromosomes are called a tetrad.

 The point at which crossing over occurs is called Chiasma (means cross; Plural Chiasmata). At the chiasma, the chromatids break. The broken segment of one chromatid is fused with the other chromatid. Chromosomes in tetrad exchange fragments by a process called crossing over.