9.10 HOW DO MEIOSIS AND SEXUAL
REPRODUCTION PRODUCE GENETIC VARIABILITY?
The individual members of most species are genetically different from one
another. The offspring of a single pair of parents are usually genetically different
from one another and parents.
Mutations occur randomly.
Shuffling of homologues creates
novel combinations of chromosomes
One mechanism is the random distribution of maternal and
paternal homologues to the daughter nuclei during meiosis I
During metaphase I the paired of homologues line up at the
center of the cell. But which homologs face
which pole is random.
In people, meiosis randomly shuffles 23 pairs of homologues
chromosome, and theoretically produce more than 8 million
(2^23) different combinations of maternal and paternal
chromosomes in gametes.
At metaphase I, the chromosomes can align in four
possible configurations.
Anaphase I can produce eight possible sets of
chromosomes. (2^3 = 8).
Crossing over creates chromosomes with a novel combination of genes
Crossing over produces chromosomes with
combinations of alleles that differ from those of
either parent.
Some of these new combinations may have never existed before because
homologues chromosomes cross over in new and different places at each
meiotic division.
1 in 8 million gametes could have the
same combination of maternal and
paternal chromosomes.
Crossing over ensures that none of those
chromosomes will be purely maternal or purely
paternal.
Every sperm and every egg is genetically unique.
The fusion of gametes adds furthers genetic variability to the offspring
At fertilization, two gametes, each containing a
unique combination of alleles, fuse to form a diploid
offspring.
Theoretically, every human can produce about 8 million different gametes
based on the random separation of homologues.
Fusion of just two people could produce 8 million x 8 million, or
64 trillion, genetically different children.
The chances that your parents could
produce another child who is genetically
identical the same as you are about
1/8,000,000 x 1/8,000,000 or 1 in 64 trillion.