What is meiosis in simple words?
Meiosis is a process where a single cell divides twice to produce four cells containing half the original amount of genetic information. These cells are our sex cells – sperm in males, eggs in females.
What is meiosis function?
The main function of the meiotic division is the production of gametes (egg cells or sperm cells) or spores. In the human body, the meiosis process takes place to decrease the number of chromosomes in a normal cell which is 46 chromosomes to 23 chromosomes in eggs and sperms.
What are the two types of meiosis?
Meiosis occurs in two distinct phases: meiosis I and meiosis II. There are many similarities and differences between these phases, with each phase producing different products and each phase being as crucial to the production of viable germ cells.
Which is the longest phase in meiosis?
Prophase I
Prophase I is the longest phase of meiosis. It occurs in five stages. They are Leptotene, Zygotene, Pachytene, Diplotene and Diakinesis.
What is mitotic and meiotic division?
There are two types of cell division: mitosis and meiosis. Most of the time when people refer to “cell division,” they mean mitosis, the process of making new body cells. Meiosis is the type of cell division that creates egg and sperm cells. Mitosis is a fundamental process for life.
What is another name for meiosis?
meiosis, also called reduction division, division of a germ cell involving two fissions of the nucleus and giving rise to four gametes, or sex cells, each possessing half the number of chromosomes of the original cell.
What are the 3 main functions of meiosis?
Meiosis is important for three main reasons: it allows sexual reproduction of diploid organisms, it enables genetic diversity, and it aids the repair of genetic defects.
How many divisions are in meiosis?
Meiosis contains two separate cell divisions, meaning that one parent cell can produce four gametes (eggs in females, sperm in males). In each round of division, cells go through four stages: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.
What is the shortest phase of meiosis?
Hint: The shortest phase is a part of Meiosis I in cell division. It involves the separation of homologous chromosomes, which start moving towards the opposite poles after they are aligned at the equator. Complete answer: The shortest phase of mitosis is Anaphase I.