Meiosis is a type of cell division that occurs in sexually reproducing organisms. The key outcome of meiosis is the production of gametes, which are specialized reproductive cells such as sperm and eggs in animals, and pollen and ovules in plants.
During meiosis, a single diploid cell undergoes two rounds of division—meiosis I and meiosis II—resulting in four haploid cells. These haploid cells contain half the number of chromosomes compared to the original diploid cell. This reduction is crucial for maintaining the correct chromosome number across generations when gametes from two parents fuse during fertilization.
To sum it up, the primary products of meiosis are:
- Four haploid gametes.
This process not only aids in sexual reproduction but also contributes to genetic diversity through mechanisms like crossing over and independent assortment, which shuffle genetic information during the formation of gametes.