Independent Assortment
- Meiosis gives rise to cells that are genetically different from each other and is the type of cell division used to produce gametes (sex cells)
- During meiosis, the nucleus of the original 'parent' cell undergoes two rounds of division. These are:
- Meiosis I
- Meiosis II
Meiosis I
- The nucleus of the original 'parent' cell is diploid (2n) i.e. it contains two sets of chromosomes
- Before meiosis I, these chromosomes replicate
- During meiosis I, the homologous pairs of chromosomes are split up, to produce two haploid (n) nuclei
- At this point, each chromosome still consists of two chromatids
- Note that the chromosome number halves (from 2n to n) in the first division of meiosis (meiosis I), not the second division (meiosis II)
Meiosis II
- During meiosis II, the chromatids that make up each chromosome separate to produce four haploid (n) nuclei
- At this point, each chromosome now consists of a single chromatid
During meiosis, one diploid nucleus divides by meiosis to produce four haploid nuclei
- Having genetically different offspring can be advantageous for natural selection
- Meiosis has several mechanisms that increase the genetic diversity of gametes produced. The two main mechanisms are:
- Independent assortment
- Crossing over
- Both independent assortment and crossing over result in different combinations of alleles in gametes
Independent assortment
- Independent assortment is the production of different combinations of alleles in daughter cells due to the random alignment of homologous pairs along the equator of the spindle during metaphase I of meiosis I
- The different combinations of chromosomes in daughter cells generate an increase in the genetic variation between gametes
- In meiosis I, homologous chromosomes pair up and are pulled towards the equator of the spindle
- Each pair can be arranged with either chromosome on top, this is completely random
- The orientation of one homologous pair is independent/unaffected by the orientation of any other pair
- The homologous chromosomes are then separated and pulled apart to different poles
- The combination of alleles that end up in each daughter cell depends on how the pairs of homologous chromosomes were lined up
- To work out the number of different possible chromosome combinations the formula 2n can be used, where n corresponds to the number of chromosomes in a haploid cell
- For humans, this is 223 which calculates as 8,324,608 different combinations
Independent assortment of homologous chromosomes leads to different genetic combinations in daughter cells