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. 2013 Dec 20;8(12):e85075. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0085075

Figure 1. Genome-wide mean MLH1 values in human males and females.

Figure 1

MLH1 foci were used as a marker for meiotic recombination events. (A) shows a representative pachytene oocyte and (B) a representative pachytene spermatocyte, that were immunostained for SYCP3 (in red), a component of the synaptonemal complex; CREST (in blue), detecting centromeric regions; and MLH1 foci (in green), detecting crossovers. (C) In total 4660 spermatocytes from 56 males (white) and 2038 oocytes from 63 females (black) were examined. Mean MLH1 counts (± S.E.) were significantly lower in males than females (49.09 ± 0.07 vs. 69.25 ± 0.29; t=92.5, p<0.0001) and the range was narrower in males than females (30-66 vs. 27-119). (D) Mean number (± S.E.) of MLH1 foci per cell for individual male and female samples, demonstrating the lack of overlap between the sexes, and the increased variation in individual female cases by comparison with males.