Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the events that take place during meiosis of the
Drosophila oocyte. Prior to the meiotic prophase, the chromosomes attach to specific sites
on the inner surface of the nuclear envelope. The chromosomes replicate their entire DNA
except for the synaptomeres. During leptonema, histone-deficient synaptomeres pair,
reducing the length of each chromosome by a factor of 500 times. The reaction serves to zip
homologous chromosomes together, starting at the telomeres and ending at the …