Biology 1001A Chapter Notes - Chapter 9-18: Gametophyte, Cell Nucleus, Molly Mcguire

• School: Western University
• Department: Biology
• Course: Biology 1001A
• Professor: Tom Haffie

Document Summary

Two dna molecules that differ from one another, A mechanism for bringing the dna molecules into close proximity. Sexual reproduction: the production of offspring through the union of male and female gametes. Sexual reproduction depends on meiosis, a specialized process of cell division that recombines dna sequences an produces cells with half the number of chromosomes present in the somatic cells (body cells) of a species. At fertilization the nuclei of an egg and a sperm cell fuse, producing a cell called the zygote, in which the chromosome number typical of the species is restored. Without the halving of the chromosomes number by the meiotic divisions, fertilization would double the number of chromosomes in each subsequent generation. Both meiosis and fertilization also mix genetic information into new combinations, thus none of the offspring of a mating pari are likely to be genetically identical to either their parent or their siblings.