CELL DIVISION
MEIOSIS AND GENETIC VARIATION
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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For genetic variety-survivability of species
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So we aren’t clones of each other
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So sperm are special
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So gametes are haploid
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Detailed explanation-1: -Use in clinical context. It is important that gametes have half the amount of DNA (haploid) so that at fertilisation when the egg and sperm combine it results in a cell with a full complement of DNA. Errors can occur during meiosis producing gametes with an extra or missing chromosome.
Detailed explanation-2: -Maintaining high genetic diversity allows species to adapt to future environmental changes and avoid inbreeding. Inbreeding, which happens when there are small, isolated populations, can reduce a species’ ability to survive and reproduce.
Detailed explanation-3: -It is the specific process of meiosis, resulting in four unique haploid cells, that results in these many combinations. This independent assortment, in which the chromosome inherited from either the father or mother can sort into any gamete, produces the potential for tremendous genetic variation.