The process of cell division that results in four dissimilar haploid daughter cells is called?

The process of cell division that results in four dissimilar haploid daughter cells is called?

• A. Meiosis
• B. Mitosis
• C. Cloning
• D. Maturation

Answer: (A)

Meiosis is the type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number and produces four genetically different haploid cells. It happens in two rounds of division, meiosis I and meiosis II. In the first round, homologous chromosomes pair up and then separate, cutting the chromosome number in half. In the second round, the sister chromatids separate, producing four cells. Each of these cells ends up with a single set of chromosomes, i.e., haploid. The genetic diversity among the four cells comes from crossing over between homologous chromosomes and the random way chromosome pairs line up and split (independent assortment), so the haploid cells are dissimilar. This process is how gametes (sperm and egg) are formed in animals (and spores in plants), ready to combine DNA during fertilization. Mitosis would make two identical diploid cells, not four haploid ones; cloning and maturation aren’t processes that describe this specific outcome.

Meiosis is the type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number and produces four genetically different haploid cells. It happens in two rounds of division, meiosis I and meiosis II. In the first round, homologous chromosomes pair up and then separate, cutting the chromosome number in half. In the second round, the sister chromatids separate, producing four cells. Each of these cells ends up with a single set of chromosomes, i.e., haploid. The genetic diversity among the four cells comes from crossing over between homologous chromosomes and the random way chromosome pairs line up and split (independent assortment), so the haploid cells are dissimilar. This process is how gametes (sperm and egg) are formed in animals (and spores in plants), ready to combine DNA during fertilization. Mitosis would make two identical diploid cells, not four haploid ones; cloning and maturation aren’t processes that describe this specific outcome.