Meiosis: Recombination and the control of cell division

Abstract

Meiosis is a key step in sexual reproduction. It is required for the production of gametes, consequently fertility, and generates diversity by scrambling parental genotypes. Thus, it is central to plant genome evolution The last ten years have provided a huge step forward in our understanding of chromosome recombination and segregation in plants, with more than 50 genes identified and the deciphering of molecular mechanisms Here we review all these findings on plant meiotic recombination and chromosome dynamics, including both diploid and polyploid species. We discuss their similarities and differences compared to other model species. It appears that there is now an integrated framework to better evaluate how meiosis and recombination have driven plant genome evolution and how genome structure reciprocally impacts meiotic processes.