During the processes of cell division, mitosis and meiosis serve different purposes and yield different outcomes when it comes to the genetic identity of daughter cells. In mitosis, the daughter cells are produced with the same number of chromosomes and identical genetic material as the parent cell. This is essential for growth, repair, and asexual reproduction in organisms.
On the other hand, meiosis is a specialized form of cell division that occurs in the production of gametes—sperm and eggs. Unlike mitosis, meiosis involves two rounds of division (meiosis I and meiosis II), and it incorporates processes that introduce genetic variation among the daughter cells.
During meiosis I, homologous chromosomes are separated and distributed into daughter cells. This means that each daughter cell gets a mix of chromosomes from both parents. Moreover, crossing over occurs during prophase I, where sections of chromosomes are exchanged between homologous chromosomes, resulting in new combinations of alleles. As a result, the four daughter cells produced at the end of meiosis are not genetically identical to each other or to the parent cell.
In conclusion, while mitosis creates genetically identical daughter cells to ensure continuity of genetic information, meiosis promotes genetic diversity, which is crucial for evolution and adaptation in sexually reproducing organisms.