The very early events of meiosis occur in the Leptotene stage when the CHROMATIN (nucleic acids diffused throughout the nucleus and not giving the appearance of chromosomes) begins to condense and form strands. The genetic material has already duplicated and as the strands condense from the CHROMATIN, the chromosome is seen to be composed of two CHROMATIDS which are the twin strands resulting from replication. Flip to the next card.