What best explains how meiosis contributes to genetic variation in a species?
Meiosis allows for crossing over chromosomes , resulting in new gene combinations.
Meiosis will contain daughter cells that will contain identical chromosomes.
Meiosis reduces the number of mutations in a organism.
Meiosis results in offspring that contains alleles from only one parent gamete
The best explanation is that meiosis allows for crossing over of chromosomes, resulting in new gene combinations. This process occurs during the prophase I stage of meiosis, where homologous chromosomes exchange genetic material through a process called recombination. This exchange of genetic material creates new combinations of alleles, increasing the genetic variation in the resulting gametes.
The incorrect options can be explained as follows:
- Meiosis does not result in daughter cells that contain identical chromosomes. In fact, the purpose of meiosis is to create genetically diverse cells by separating homologous chromosomes and creating haploid cells with half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell.
- Meiosis does not reduce the number of mutations in an organism. Mutations can occur during any stage of a cell's life cycle, including meiosis. However, meiosis does play a role in increasing genetic variation through recombination, as mentioned earlier.
- Meiosis does not result in offspring that contains alleles from only one parent gamete. Meiosis involves two rounds of cell division, resulting in four genetically different haploid cells known as gametes. These gametes are formed through the separation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis I and the separation of sister chromatids during meiosis II. The combination of gametes from two parent organisms contributes to the genetic makeup of the offspring, incorporating alleles from both parents.