What accounts for (1) The genetic similarity between daughter cells and the parent cell following mitosis and (2) The genetic dissimilarity between daughter cells and the parent cell following meiosis?
What accounts for (1) The genetic similarity between daughter cells and the parent cell following mitosis and (2) The genetic dissimilarity between daughter cells and the parent cell following meiosis?
Answer
(1) Mitosis results in genetically identical daughter cells because it involves a single division, ensuring that each daughter cell receives an identical set of chromosomes as the parent cell. (2) Meiosis, however, leads to genetic dissimilarity between daughter cells because it involves two rounds of division. During meiosis, homologous chromosomes undergo recombination (crossing-over), which introduces genetic variation by shuffling genes. This results in four non-identical gametes, each with half the chromosome number of the parent cell, which is crucial for sexual reproduction and genetic diversity.
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