what is chiasmata?? plz explain in simple words
During prophase of meiosis the two homologous chromosomes are seen to be joined at several points along their length. These points are called chiasmata (chiasma, a cross). Each chiasma is the site of an exchange between chromatids. It is produced by breakage and reunion between any two of the four strands present at each site. As a result, genes from one chromosome may swap with the genes from other chromosome leading new gene combination in the resulting chromatids.