Final answer:
At metaphase I of meiosis, homologous chromosomes are connected at chiasmata, which are the sites of crossing over. Option c is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
At metaphase I of meiosis, homologous chromosomes are connected only at chiasmata. Chiasmata are the points where genetic material is exchanged between homologous chromosomes during a process called crossing over. This crossing over helps increase genetic diversity by creating new combinations of alleles.
At metaphase I of meiosis, homologous chromosomes are connected only at chiasmata. These are regions where the chromosomes have crossed over and exchanged genetic material, physically linking the homologous chromosomes together. The synaptonemal complex, which is a protein lattice that forms during prophase I, holds the homologs in tight alignment.
However, by metaphase I, this complex has disassembled, and the chiasmata are the only connections that maintain the association between the homologous chromosomes as they align at the metaphase plate.