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In the first stage of sexual reproduction, meiosis, the number of chromosomes is reduced from a diploid number (2n) to a haploid number (n). During fertilisation, haploid gametes come together to form a diploid zygote, and the original number of chromosomes is restored.
Meiosis I segregates homologous chromosomes, which are joined as tetrads (2n, 4c), producing two haploid cells (n chromosomes, 23 in humans) which each contain chromatid pairs (1n, 2c). Because the ploidy is reduced from diploid to haploid, meiosis I is referred to as a reductional division .
This process results in each gamete usually containing a mixture of chromosomes from both original parents. Improper chromosome segregation (see non-disjunction, disomy) can result in aneuploid gametes having either too few or too many chromosomes. The second stage at which segregation occurs during meiosis is prophase II (see meiosis diagram ...
Crossing over is important for the normal segregation of chromosomes during meiosis. [2] Crossing over also accounts for genetic variation, because due to the swapping of genetic material during crossing over, the chromatids held together by the centromere are no longer identical. So, when the chromosomes go on to meiosis II and separate, some ...
The two chromosomes which pair are referred to as non-sister chromosomes, since they did not arise simply from the replication of a parental chromosome. Recombination between non-sister chromosomes at meiosis is known to be a recombinational repair process that can repair double-strand breaks and other types of double-strand damage. [2]
The development of sexual differences begins with the XY sex-determination system that is present in humans, and complex mechanisms are responsible for the development of the phenotypic differences between male and female humans from an undifferentiated zygote. [3] Females typically have two X chromosomes, and males typically have a Y ...
[3] This is not to be confused with mitosis. Mitosis also has prophase, but does not ordinarily do pairing of two homologous chromosomes. [4] In contrast to the mitosis cycle, during meiosis, the number of chromosomes is reduced by half to create haploid gametes; this reduction is called Haploidization; after fertilization, diploidy is restored.
During the leptotene stage, the duplicated chromosomes - each consisting of two sister chromatids - condense from diffuse chromatin into long, thin strands that are more visible within the nucleoplasm (nucleus contents). The chromosomes become visible as thin threadlike structures known as leptonema under a light microscope. [1]: 27 [2]: 353