Figure 19-36 Chiasmata and cohesins distal to them link homologous chromosomes in meiosis I metaphase. Connections between chromosomes during meiosis I are most easily visualized in organisms with acrocentric centromeres, such as the grasshopper. The kinetochores at the centromeres of sister chromatids attach to spindle microtubules emanating from the same spindle pole, with the kinetochores of the maternal (red) and paternal (blue) chromosomes attaching to spindle microtubules from opposite spindle poles. The maternal and paternal chromosomes are attached to each other by chiasmata, which are formed by recombination between them, and by the cohesion between sister chromatid arms that persists until metaphase I. Note that elimination of cohesion between sister chromatid arms is all that is required for the homologous chromosomes to separate at anaphase. See L. V. Paliulis and R. B. Nicklas, 2000, J. Cell Biol. 150:1223.