Cross-overs, sperm redundancy and their close association

Abstract

Numbers of cbiasmata in the production of each gamete are closely related to the proportion of gametes which fail to function (r = 081 for 24 species). Gamete redundancy and chiasma frequency fail to correlate with chromosome number, DNA weight/nucleus, or the weight or age of the animal at puberty, as closely as with each other. Implications and corollaries are considered, and it is concluded that most gametes are functionless by-products of a necessarily faulty production system. © 1973 The Genetical Society of Great Britain.