In a wild-type gonad, RAD-51 foci first appear in the transition zone, peak in early pachytene, and then largely disappear upon entry into late pachytene. In contrast, gonads from
him-8 hermaphrodites contain RAD-51 foci throughout the delayed early pachytene stage as well as roughly halfway through late pachytene. RAD-51 foci achieve higher absolute numbers, and persist through later meiotic substages, when mutant conditions were compared to wild-type. Significantly, in nuclei from the extended early pachytene region of
him-8 mutants, RAD-51 foci remain on the autosomes as well as the X chromosome.