Synaptonemal complex protects double-Holliday junctions during meiosis.

Chromosomal linkages formed through crossover recombination are essential for accurate segregation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. DNA events of recombination are spatially and functionally linked to structural components of meiotic chromosomes. Imperatively, biased resolution of double-Holliday junction (dHJ) intermediates into crossovers occurs within the synaptonemal complex (SC), the meiosis-specific structure that mediates homolog synapsis during the pachytene stage.