In the last section you learned about the role and importance of meiosis in sexual reproduction. Now you’ll see how meiosis produces haploid cells. Unlike the products of mitosis, the products of meiosis are genetically different from one another and from the parent cell.
Meiosis has three overall goals:
It reduces the chromosome number from diploid (2n) to haploid (n).
It ensures that each of the haploid products has a complete set of chromosomes.
It generates genetic diversity among the products.
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Gametes, which are the products of meiosis, are genetically different from each other and from the parent cell.
Recombination events during meiosis increase genetic variability in gametes.
Random gene combinations in gametes result from events during meiosis.
Meiotic errors and other events introduce additional genetic variation in gametes.