Chiasmata

 Chiasmata is the region of crossing over between two homologous chromosomes during Propase I of meiosis. At the chiasmata, homologous chromosomes exchange genes. This allows genetic information from both the paternal and maternal chromatids to be exchanged, and a recombination of paternal and maternal genes can be passed down to the progeny. This process is important in diploid organisms to ensure variation in the progeny.