State that meiosis is a reduction division in terms of diploid and haploid numbers of

chromosomes
Outline the process of meiosis including pairing of chromosomes followed by two divisions
which result in four haploid cells
In meiosis, the number of chromosomes is halved, the daughter cells receiving only one of each type
of chromosome instead of two. It occurs in the formation of gametes (sex cells). In the diploid parent
cell, chromosomes occur in homologous pairs (the same size). The parent splits in two (1 stmeiotic
division), and the homologous chromosomes of each pair line up together and then get separated
from one another and go into different cells. The products then divide again (2 ndmeiotic division, and
the chromatids are separated and a total of 4 daughter cells result

Explain how the movement of chromosomes during meiosis can give rise to genetic variety
in the resulting haploid cells
Chromosomes are inherited as a group; that is, during cell division they act and move as a unit rather
than independently. The existence of linkage groups is the reason some traits do not comply with
Mendel's law of independent assortment (recombination of genes and the traits they control); i.e., the
principle applies only if genes are located on different chromosomes. Variation in the gene composition
of a chromosome can occur when a chromosome breaks, and the sections join with the partner
chromosome if it has broken in the same places. This exchange of genes between chromosomes,
called crossing over, usually occurs during meiosis, when the total number of chromosomes is halved.

Explain that non-disjunction can lead to changes in chromosome number, illustrated by

reference to down's syndrome

 Congenital disorder caused by an extra chromosome on the chromosome 21 pair, thus giving
the person a total of 47 chromosomes rather than the normal 46. Persons born with Down
syndrome are characterized by several of the following: broad, flat face; short neck; up-slanted
eyes, sometimes with an inner epicanthi fold; low-set ears; small nose and enlarged tongue and
lips; sloping under chin; poor muscle tone; mental retardation; heart or kidney malformations or
both; and abnormal dermal ridge patterns on fingers, palms, and soles. The mental retardation
seen in persons with Down syndrome is usually moderate, though in some it may be mild or
severe. Congenital heart disease is found in about 40 percent of people with Down syndrome.
 Most persons with Down syndrome have an extra (third) chromosome -a condition known as
trilogy--associated with the chromosome 21 pair. Almost all individuals with Down syndrome
have this trilogy, but a small number (perhaps 4 percent) have an abnormality called
translocation, in which the extra
Chromosome in the 21 pair breaks off and attaches itself to another chromosome. The cause of the
chromosomal abnormalities in Down syndrome remains unknown.

State Mendel's law of segregation

The characteristics of an organism are determined by internal factors that occur in pairs. Only one of a
pair of such factors can be represented in a single gamete.

Explain the relationship between Mendel's law of segregation and meiosis

Meiosis is the process that separates allele pairs to create the gametes (sex cells; sperm, egg) that
later fuse together during fertilization.