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Mitosis is a type of cell division that produces two identical daughter cells from a single parent cell (Gilchrist, 2023). There are key steps of cellular reproduction of Mitosis, which I will be listing below.

Prophase: DNA replication precedes mitosis and is aligned by chromosome condensation.

Prometaphase: The nuclear envelope fragments completely. Spindle microtubules attach to the kinetochores of the chromosomes.

Metaphase: Chromosomes align at the metaphase plate, which is the cell's equator.

Anaphase: Sister chromatids separate and move to opposite poles of the cell.

Telophase: Chromosomes arrive at the poles and begin to precipitate. The nuclear envelope reforms around each set of chromosomes, and the spindle disappears.

Cytokinesis: The cytoplasm divides, resulting in two daughter cells.

(Rehman, Basit, Malik, & Simpson, 2023)

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Meiosis is another type of cell division, but this one sexually reproduces organisms that reduce the number of chromosomes in gametes (Gilchrist, 2023). There are key steps of cellular reproduction of Meiosis l and Meiosis ll, which I will list below.

Prophase l: Chromosomes condense, homologous chromosome pairs form (synapsis), crossing over occurs.

Metaphase ll: Homologous chromosome pairs align at the equator.

Anaphase l: Homologous chromosomes separate and move toward opposite poles. Sister chromatids remain attached.

Telophase l & Cytokinesis: Two haploid daughter cells form; chromosomes may or may not become liquid.

Meiosis ll:

Prophase ll: Chromosomes condense, and the nuclear envelope breaks down if reformed.

Metaphase ll: Individual chromosomes align at the equator.

Anaphase ll: Sister chromatids separate and move to opposite poles.

Telophase ll & Cytokinesis: Four haploid cells form.

(Nature, 2014)

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Purpose: Sexual reproduction creates sperm and egg cells.

Result: Four daughter cells.

DNA: Each daughter cell receives half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. The DNA is haploid (n).

Genetic Variation: Introduced through two key mechanisms, where one is an exchange of genetic material between homologous chromosomes, and the other is a random distribution of maternal and paternal chromosomes. Daughter cells are genetically unique.

The main difference is that meiosis generates genetically diverse cells with half the chromosome number for sexual reproduction.

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Mendel's Law of Independent states that every possible combination of alleles for every genre is equally likely to occur (Mandah, 2024). This is because the genes are located on different chromosomes, which claim independently during meiosis l. Both processes of the behavior of chromosomes compared to the genetic diversity seen in sexually reproducing organisms (O’Connor, 2008).

The behavior of chromosomes during meiosis generates variation, both an independent assortment and crossing over (Mattaini, 2020). In independent assortment, homologous chromosomes line up randomly during meiosis l (Johnson, 2019), leading to a huge number of possible chromosome combinations in the gametes. The random shuffling explains Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment: alleles for different genes segregate independently.

In crossing over, during meiosis l, homologous chromosomes exchange DNA segments through crossing over (Wetterstrand, 2019). This exchange increases genetic diversity beyond what independent assortment alone provides.

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Gilchrist, D. A. (2023, July 12). Mitosis. Retrieved August 22, 2022, from National Human Genome Research Institute website: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Mitosis

Rehman, I., Basit, H., Malik, A., & Simpson, B. (2023, March 27). Genetics, Mitosis. Retrieved from PubMed website: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482449/

Miller, E. (2024, July 17). Mitosis — Knowledge Hub. Retrieved April 13, 2023, from GeNotes website: https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/genotes/knowledge-hub/mitosis/

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Gilchrist, D. (2023, July 12). Meiosis. Retrieved August 22, 2022, from Genome.gov website: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Meiosis

Nature. (2014, May 9). Meiosis | Learn Science at Scitable. Retrieved July 12, 2013, from Nature.com website: https://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/meiosis-88/

Mattaini, K. (2020, July 27). Chapter 15. Meiosis & Sexual Reproduction. Retrieved February 4, 2019, from rwu.pressbooks.pub website: https://rwu.pressbooks.pub/bio103/chapter/meiosis-and-sexual-reproduction/

Johnson, A. (2019, March 12). Random Assortment of Chromosomes: Definition & Explanation - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com. Retrieved November 21, 2018, from Study.com website: https://study.com/academy/lesson/random-assortment-of-chromosomes-definition-lesson-quiz.html

Mandah, T. (2024, March 28). Sex-Linked Traits. Retrieved August 16, 2023, from Libretexts.org website: https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/General_Biology_(Boundless)/12%3A_Mendel

Wetterstrand, K. (2019, October 21). Crossing Over. Retrieved February 29, 2018, from Genome.gov website: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Crossing-Over

O’Connor, C. (2008, June 21). Stages of Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction | Learn Science at Scitable. Retrieved February 5, 2007, from Nature.com website: https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/meiosis-genetic-recombination-and-sexual-reproduction-210/

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Purpose: Asexual reproduction, cell growth, and repair.

Result: Two daughter cells.

DNA: Each daughter cell receives identical copies of the parent cell's DNA. The DNA is diploid (2n), meaning a complete set of chromosomes.

Genetic Variation: There is none; daughter cells are genetically identical.

The main difference is that mitosis creates identical copies for repair and growth.