What is meiosis?

Meiosis is a specialized form of cell division that is crucial for sexual reproduction. It reduces the chromosome number by half through two successive divisions, resulting in four daughter cells, each with a unique combination of genetic material. These daughter cells are known as gametes—sperm in males and eggs in females. By producing gametes, meiosis ensures genetic diversity among offspring, as it introduces variation through processes like crossing over and independent assortment of chromosomes.

This makes meiosis fundamentally different from other processes such as mitosis, which involves somatic (non-reproductive) cell division, and is not related to DNA replication or cellular respiration, which serve entirely different biological functions. Meiosis specifically addresses the need for genetic variation and the maintenance of chromosome number across generations in sexually reproducing organisms.