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Meiosis: Gamete Production and

Sexual Reproduction

Asexual vs. Sexual Reproduction

Mitosis 1 nuclear division that
maintains ploidy of cell
2 daugher cells produced that
are identical to each other and
parent
Meiosis 2 nuclear divisions that produce
4 haploid cells (gametes) that are
genetically distinct from each other
and the parents
reduction division

Mitosis

Meiosis

Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction

2n

2n

Diploid condition is restored when haploid

gametes unite at fertilization to from a
zygote.

2n
2n

Zygote grows and develops by the

process of mitosis.

crossing over
2n

2n

1n

meiosis I
1n
meiosis II

2n

2n

1n

1n

1n

Gametes (haploid sex cells sperm and

eggs) are produced (gametogenesis) by
the gonads in animals (testes in males and
ovaries in females).

1n

Homologous Chromosomes
In diploid cells, chromosomes occur in
pairs: one member of a pair is inherited
from the male parent and the other
member is inherited from the female
parent.
Homologous chromosomes have the
same genes for the same traits at the
same position (locus), e.g., gene for eye
color.

1 homologous pair

A different
homologous pair

gene locus

alleles slightly different

variations of the same gene

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Figure 11.4

Types of Chromosomes
Allosomes (sex chromosomes)
determine gender
in mammals, X-Y sex determination:
XX is female, XY is male
Autosomes non-sex chromosomes
humans have 46 chromosomes, or
23 pairs; 44 are autosomes (22
pairs) and 2 are sex chromosomes
(1 pair)

Overview of Meiosis
2 meiotic divisions:
Meiosis I homologues separate
into 2 daughter cells
Meiosis II sister chromatids
separate into 4
daughter cells

Crossing Over During Prophase I

Duplicated maternal
chromosome
sister chromatids
tetrad formed
by synapsis
crossing over between
non-sister chromatids
4 genetically unique
sister chromatids

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Independent Assortment
Homologous chromosomes separate
independently, or in random order, from
each other.

allele for
brown eyes
allele for
green eyes

allele for
black hair
allele for
red hair
gene locus
hair color

eye color gene locus

Introducing Genetic Variation

Crossing over
Independent assortment
Fertilization (self-fertilization and
outcrossing)
Mutation

Human Example
Number of possible chromosomal
combinations in gametes is
223 = 8,388,608

(8.4 x 106)

At fertilization (without crossing over) the

number of chromosomally-unique zygotes
possible is

If crossing over occurs once, the number of

genetically different zygotes possible is
(423)2 =
4,951,760,200,000,000,000,000,000,000
(or 5 x 1027)!!!

(223)2 = 70,368,744,000,000 (7 x 1013)

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Mistakes in Meiosis
Non-Disjunction
Gain (polyploidy) or loss (aneuploidy) of
chromosomes due to homologous
chromosomes not separating during
meiosis I or failure of sister chromatids
to separate during meiosis II.

Asexual vs. Sexual Reproduction

Asexual any mechanism of producing
offspring that does not involve fusion of
gametes
Mitosis
Binary fission in prokaryotes and
unicellular organisms rapid cell
division and mutation
Budding in multicellular organisms

Asexual vs. Sexual Reproduction

Sexual reproduction the production of
offspring through the fusion of gametes.

Why Have Sex?

Asymmetry of energy investment in reproduction

between males and females

Costs (to females)

Cost of meiosis
50% of mothers DNA is passed to
progeny vs. 100% for an asexual female
A sexual female must produce twice as
many offspring as a sexual female to have
the same fitness

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Why Have Sex?

(Why have two sexes?)

Costs (to females)

Cost of recombination
Female incurs a 50% reduction in
genetic input to offspring
(concept of fitness: the amount of genetic
material an individual contributes to future
generations; more offspring = more fitness)

Male may not contribute good genetic

material

Why Have Sex?

Costs (to both sexes)
Cost of mating
mechanisms attractants/searching;
gonads less energy available for
making offspring
mating behavior time and energy;
conspicuous to predators
injury to females during mating
male-male combat

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Why Have Sex?

Costs (to both sexes)
Cost of mating
disease transmission
Escape from unwanted sexual
advances (cost to females)

Asexual vs. Sexual Reproduction

Asexual 100% fitness (for females)
rapid rate of reproduction
relatively inexpensive

Asexual reproduction seems ideal, yet

97% of all eukaryotic organisms use
sexual reproduction (some organisms can
use both asexual and sexual reproduction)

Number of individuals

Sexual 50% fitness (for females)

slower rate of reproduction b/c
not all members of population
can bear young
expensive

asexual

sexual

less fit

super fit

Fitness continuum

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Fitness vs. Variation

Genetic variation wiggle room to adapt
to changing conditions or to deal with
pathogens and avoid extinction.
Under relatively stable or constant
conditions, a narrow set of evolutionary
solutions to ecological problems confers
greater fitness at less cost.
However, under variable or changing
conditions, a greater array of evolutionary
solutions confers greater fitness.

Lottery Analogy
Asexual reproduction is like buying 1000
lottery tickets with the same number.

Organisms are classified by their

mitotic and meiotic life cycles

Sexual reproduction is like buying 1000

tickets, all with different numbers.

(Most animals)

(diplontic life cycle: meiosis is gametic)

(Many algae)

(haplontic life cycle: meiosis is zygotic)

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(Land plants and

some algae)

(haplodiplontic life cycle: meiosis is sporic)