Q.

The enzyme recombinase is required at which stage of meiosis    [2014]

1 Pachytene  
2 Zygotene  
3 Diplotene  
4 Diakinesis  

Ans.

(1)

Pachytene stage is characterised by the appearance of recombination nodules, the sites at which crossing over occurs between non-sister chromatids of the homologous chromosomes. Nodules contain multi-enzyme complex called recombinase. Recombinase is made of endonuclease, exonuclease, unwindase, R-protein, etc.