Which cell type does meiosis produce: haploid or diploid cells?
Meiosis is a type of cell division that occurs in eukaryotic cells, which
produces haploid cells. Haploid cells contain half of the number of
chromosomes (n) as compared to the diploid cells.
During meiosis, a single diploid cell divides into four haploid cells. The process
involves two rounds of cell division, known as meiosis I and meiosis II, which
leads to the reduction of the chromosome number by half in the resulting cells.
In meiosis I, homologous pairs of chromosomes separate, while in meiosis II,
sister chromatids separate resulting in the formation of four haploid cells.
The production of haploid cells through meiosis is essential for the sexual
reproduction of eukaryotic organisms. In humans, haploid cells are created
through meiosis in the gonads (testes or ovaries), which then fuse with
another haploid cell to form a diploid zygote during fertilization.
In contrast, mitosis is a type of cell division that produces diploid cells with
identical genetic material as the parent cell. Mitosis is involved in the growth
and repair of tissues in multicellular organisms.
References:
- Alberts, B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K., & Walter, P. (2002). Molecular
Biology of the Cell. New York: Garland Science.
- Lodish, H., Berk, A., Zipursky, S. L., Matsudaira, P., Baltimore, D., & Darnell, J. (2000).
Molecular Cell Biology. W. H. Freeman.