1. 1 Reproduction

2. 2 Production of new individuals is a fundamental characteristic of a living species. Genetic information is passed on from parental generation to their offspring

3. 3 Asexual Reproduction Involves: –Single individual –No gamate production –Inheritance of identical genetic info from the parent –Mitotic divisions

4. 4 Sexual Reproduction Involves: –Formation of gametes by individuals –Meiosis which halves the number of chromosomes –Fusion of a haploid male gamete with a haploid female gamete to form a diploid zygote –The growth of the zygote by mitotic divisions into a new individual

5. 5 Why undergo sexual reproduction?

6. 6 Meiosis In a diploid organism; –One set of chromosomes from father –One set from the mother –2 copies of each chromosome in a cell –These Chromosomes are homologous

7. 7 Meiosis Homologous chromosomes: –Are same length –Have centromere in same position –Have same number of genes –Genes are arranged in the same linear order

8. 8 Stages of Meiosis See handout

9. 9 Significance of Meiosis Introduces some genetic variation Maintains genetic stability Each haploid (n) gamate carries only 1 gene for a particular characteristic Crossing over leads to new combinations of genes Independent assortment of chromosomes mixes up combinations of chromosomes

10. 10