Dynamics of the STB reporter plasmid in the absence of Csm4. The mobility features of the STB plasmid in the wild-type (4 h after transfer of cells to sporulation medium) and csm4Δ (4 h and 7 h after transfer) strains were plotted side by side (A–C). These graphs were based on 1 frame/2 s time-lapse data. As csm4Δ delays the meiotic program, the 4 and 7 h time points correspond to comparable prophase stages of meiosis I between the wild-type and the mutant strains, respectively. Plots comparing the STB plasmid to the plasmid-borne TEL (D–F, CEN-ARS-TEL) or chromosome IVR TELs (D–F, unpaired = uTEL; G-I, paired = pTEL) were assembled from data obtained at 1 frame/s. The analyses for the plasmids and for chromosomal TELs were done at 7 h and 8 h, respectively, after initiation of meiosis. This time difference did not alter the dynamics of paired or unpaired TELs (unpublished data). Note that a difference in time resolution in plotting the same set of recorded movements, 1 frame/2 s versus 1 frame/1 s, changes the histogram shapes; e.g., the plots for the STB plasmid in the csm4Δ mutant at 7 h in A and D (see the Materials and methods).