{"id":6025,"date":"2013-06-06T21:35:10","date_gmt":"2013-06-06T21:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/?p=6025"},"modified":"2014-12-02T08:27:00","modified_gmt":"2014-12-02T08:27:00","slug":"meiosis-cell-division-of-gametes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/meiosis-cell-division-of-gametes\/","title":{"rendered":"Meiosis: Cell Division of Gametes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview:\u00a0 Why Meiosis?<\/strong>
\nWhen eukaryotic cells divide to form copies in the next generation, mitosis works well to ensure that each daughter cell has the correct number and type of chromosomes.\u00a0 However, when gametes (such as ova and sperm ) combine to form a zygote, each gamete must have half the number of chromosomes in order to form a zygote with the correct number and type.\u00a0 \u00a0Otherwise, the new zygote would have twice the number of chromosomes it should have.<\/p>\n

What Are Homologous Pairs?<\/strong>
\nEach chromosome in a pair has exactly the same genetic information.\u00a0 For example, the 46 chromosomes in a human cell form 23 homologous pairs.\u00a0 This is so that gametes can form with all the genetic information necessary for reproduction, with half the number of chromosomes, also known as a haploid number.<\/p>\n

Steps Involved in Meiosis I<\/strong>
\nThe process involved in forming haploid gametes is a two-step process.\u00a0 The first steps separate the chromosomes from homologous pairs.\u00a0 The sequence is quite similar to mitosis, as DNA has to be synthesized and other structures within the cell have to be readied before meiosis can begin.\u00a0 After it begins, the chromosomes line up next to each other in a tetrad.\u00a0 The tetrad goes through a prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.\u00a0 However, the end result in Meiosis I is that each daughter cell has half of the chromosomes of the original cell, and they are no longer in pairs.<\/p>\n

Steps Involved in Meiosis II<\/strong>
\nMeiosis II occurs immediately after Meiosis I.\u00a0 There is no period in which chromosomes are synthesized, because all the chromosomes that are needed have already been formed as a result of Meiosis II.\u00a0 It also has four phases that are similar to those in mitosis.\u00a0 During the prophase, the chromosomes are surrounded by new spindle fibers.\u00a0 During the metaphase , the chromosomes line up across the equator of the cell.\u00a0 During the anaphase, chromosomes move to opposite poles of the long cell.\u00a0 Finally, during the telophase and cytokinesis, the daughter cells are totally separate.<\/p>\n

Differences between Male and Female Cells<\/strong>
\nAlthough the process is very similar in males and females, there are important differences.\u00a0 Females are already born with all the cells to produce mature ova.\u00a0 From fetal development to puberty, those cells remain in Prophase 1.\u00a0 After puberty, they go through rest of the phases of Meiosis I and II,\u00a0 However, the cytoplasm divides unequally, resulting in a smaller cell called a polar body, and a larger cell, that goes through Meiosis II.\u00a0 That cell also divides unequally, so that there is another polar body, and an ovum that contains a great deal of cytoplasm.\u00a0 In males, a sperm cell with the diploid number of chromosomes divides through Meiosis I to form two haploid cells.
\nThose two cells divide again during Meiosis II to form another two.\u00a0 Sperm do not form polar bodies, as\u00a0 additional cytoplasm is not needed to nourish a zygote.<\/p>\n

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Overview:\u00a0 Why Meiosis? When eukaryotic cells divide to form copies in the next generation, mitosis works well to ensure that each daughter cell has the correct number and type of chromosomes.\u00a0 However, when gametes (such as ova and sperm ) combine to form a zygote, each gamete must have half the number of chromosomes in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[502,712,759,1105,2597],"class_list":["post-6025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biology","tag-diploid-number","tag-gamete","tag-haploid-number","tag-meiosis","tag-zygote"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6025\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}