The purpose of mitosis is to produce daughter cells identical to the parent cells. Therefore, the chromosome number remains the same after mitosis occurs. The purpose of meiosis is to create genetic diversity by producing daughter cells nonidentical to the parent cell.
Meiosis is one of 3 main events of sexual reproduction. The other two are fertilization and gamete production. Fertilization occurs when the nucleus of a sperm fuses with the nucleus of an egg, producing a zygote. Gametes are sex cells such as sperm and eggs.
Meiosis is a process by which one diploid parent cell is divided into 4 haploid daughter cells. The parent cell's chromosome number will be halved in each of the 4 daughter cells. The whole process is divided into 2 sections: Meiosis I and Meiosis II. The subdivisions in Meiosis I are Prophase I, Metaphase I, Anaphase I, and Telophase I. The subdivisions in Meiosis II are Prophase II, Metaphase II, Anaphase II, and Telophase II.
There are homologous pairs of chromosomes in Meiosis. This means the pairs of sister chromatids have identical shape, size, and gene arrangement.
