I. Introduction In this lab we examined the cross over Frequencies of the Sordaria to see what influences crossing over during meiosis. Crossing over is when there is a physical exchange of genetic information between two homologous chromosomes. Crossing over is random and creates genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is essential to organisms so they can evolve and adapt to changes in the environment. To explore crossing over even further, researchers decided to study the Sordaria Fimicola. They studied the Sordaria because it has rapid life cycles, so the researchers can examine many generations. The color as well as order of the spores are also easily identified, so crossing over is readily seen. Researchers examined the Sordaria Fimicola at a location called Evolution Canyon. Evolution canyon is a location in Israel where there are two slopes separated by a valley. These two slopes have very different environments; the south facing slopes (SFS) has intense sun exposure while the North-facing slope (NFS) has a cooler and shadier environment. They decided to use Evolution canyon to research the cross over frequencies of the Sordaria and examine the differences of the frequencies on the two slopes. The researches…show more content… We first disinfected our work area and scalpel. Then we then set up a plate to mate the two different Sardinia, Tan and Wild type. We divided and labeled the mating plate, using the marker, into four sections: Tan, Wild type, Tan, Wild type (clock wise direction). This is done so that two of the same Sardinia are not next to each other. We used the scalpel, that we disinfected, to cut two 0.5 cm square of both the Tan and Wild type Sordaria and paced it, hyphae down, in the correct location that we labeled on the mating plate. The plate was left at room temperature for two weeks to produce crosses of the two different strains of