BRAINCAKEMeiosis
Meiosis is a type of nuclear division that halves the number of chromosomes during the formation of gametes and recombines genetic material from both parents to produce genetic variation in the offspring.
Without the halving of the chromosome number during the formation of gametes the chromosome number would double each generation.
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Key terms in this lesson
- mitosis
- Nuclear division that produces two daughter nuclei, each genetically identical to the parent nucleus.
- haploid
- Having a single set of chromosomes, as in a gamete.
- diploid
- Having two complete sets of chromosomes, one from each parent, as in a normal body cell.
More in Genetic Diversity
- Gene Mutations
- Substitution of Bases
- Deletion of Bases
- Polyploidy and Hybrids
- The Process of Meiosis
- Genetic Recombination by Crossing Over
- Independent Segregation of Chromosomes
- Independent Segregation of Chromatids
All 19 lessons in Genetic Diversity · All AQA AS-level Biology topics