11: Sexual Reproduction and Meiosis
- Page ID
- 73841
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- 11.1: Sexual Reproduction Requires Meiosis
- Most eukaryotes undergo sexual reproduction. The variation introduced into the reproductive cells by meiosis appears to be one of the advantages of sexual reproduction. Meiosis and fertilization alternate in sexual life cycles. The process of meiosis produces genetically unique reproductive cells called gametes, which have half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. Fertilization, the fusion of haploid gametes from two individuals, restores the diploid condition.
- 11.3: The Process of Meiosis
- Sexual reproduction requires that diploid organisms produce haploid cells that can fuse during fertilization to form diploid offspring. The process that results in haploid cells is called meiosis. Meiosis is a series of events that arrange and separate chromosomes into daughter cells. During the interphase of meiosis, each chromosome is duplicated. In meiosis, there are two rounds of nuclear division resulting in four nuclei and usually four haploid daughter cells.