Biology / Unit 5 Bio 0973 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Metaphase I and Independent Orientation
Captions available
The idea
In metaphase I, every tetrad aligns at the metaphase plate, and each tetrad's maternal-versus-paternal orientation is set independently of every other tetrad.
In practice
A cell with two chromosome pairs can align them in either of two ways, and a cell with 23 pairs has millions of arrangements.
Where people slip
Independent orientation shuffles whole homologs between poles, separate from the segment-level shuffling crossing over produces.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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