 If we examine the cells from

any individual organism, we

discover that virtually all of
them have the same number
and type of chromosomes.
 Viewed with a microscope,
your chromosomes look like
those of anyone else
 Every duplicated chromosome
has a twin that resembles it in
size and shape making a
homologous pair
 Each carry the same sequence
of genes that control the same
inherited characteristics
 Having two sets of chromosomes,
one from each parent is a key
factor in the life cycle of species
that reproduce sexually
 Humans are said to be diploid
organisms because almost all our
cells contain two homologous sets
of chromosomes
 The total number, 46 in humans, is
the diploid number (2N)
Karyotypes
 The exception is the egg and
sperm cells known as gametes
 Made by meiosis in the ovaries
or testes, each gamete has
half the chromosome number,
and are considered haploid
(1N)
 For humans the haploid
number is 23 (one set of 23).
 Sexual reproduction allows
haploid sperm cells to fuse
with haploid egg cell in a
process known as
fertilization
 The resulting fertilized egg,
called a zygote, is diploid
 ½+½=1
 Meiosis is the process by which
parental chromosomes are
packaged into sex cells (sperm
& egg)
 It accomplishes two things:
 It ensures that the offspring will
have the same number of
chromosomes as each parent
 It produces substantial genetic
variation among offspring.
 It is similar to mitosis, but with
important differences
• Mitosis

• Meiosis

• Comparing mitosis and meiosis

• A big difference between mitosis and meiosis is the

number of chromosomes found in each cell at the
end

• Meiosis also helps to create genetic variation in

several ways (whereas mitosis creates identical
genomes)
• Crossing over is an event that occurs
during prophase 1 of meiosis when the
homologous chromosomes are tightly
paired in a tetrad (synapsis)
• The site of crossing over appear as X
shaped regions called a chiasma
• Chromosomes that have exchanged
material are called recombinant
chromosomes
• Multiple crossovers can occur in each of
the 22 tetrads—this creates a lot of
variation
• How the homologous pairs of
chromosomes (tetrads) line up at
metaphase 1 is a matter of chance
• Each chromosome pair orients itself
independently of the other pair on either
side of the cell’s equator
• There is a completely random chance that
each pair of homologous chromosomes
will be put into either daughter cell.
• Because we have 23 chromosomes, that
creates 223 or 8 million possible
combinations in each daughter cell
 Random fertilization adds a huge
amount of variability to the offspring
of sexual reproduction
 A human egg cell representing one of
8 million possibilities, is fertilized at
random by one sperm cell,
representing one of about 8 million
other possibilities.
 8 million x 8 million = 64 trillion
combinations of chromosomes.
• With an independent
assortment of
chromosomes,
random fertilization
and crossing over it is
surprising that even
siblings resemble one
another as much as
they do.
• Alec, Billy, Daniel, Stephen
Could Mitosis Make Haploid
Gametes----Cells with half the
number of chromosomes as
the original?
 Double chromosomes

Single chromosomes
 Mitosis is used for
 Cell Growth
 Repair
 Mitosis creates identical cells with equal
numbers of chromosomes as the original
 Meiosis is used for
 Production of Gametes or sex cells
 Meiosis creates four different Cells with half the
number of chromosomes
 Is part of the process of 2 cell divisions and
only one DNA replication
Double chromosomes
 Sperm and
eggs are
produced
in a similar
fashion,
but only
one egg is
made at a
time
Nondisjunction

Nondisjunction

Karyotyping activity