What is the difference between daughter cells produced by meiosis and daughter cells produced by mitosis?

Question

Oliver Antoine · Accepted Answer

The four daughter cells resulting from meiosis are haploid and genetically distinct. The daughter cells resulting from mitosis are diploid and identical to the parent cell.

Meiosis stage I is when the majority of the differences between mitosis and meiosis occur. Primarily, diploid cells divide into two new diploid cells during mitosis, and diploid cells divide into four new haploid cells during meiosis. The daughter cells produced by mitosis are identical, while the daughter cells produced by meiosis are different because crossing over has occurred. In mitosis, the daughter cells have the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell. In meiosis, the daughter cells have half the number of chromosomes as the parent. Homologous chromosomes pair up, cross over, and line up along the metaphase plate in tetrads during meiosis but not during mitosis. When the homologous chromosomes split and move to opposite poles during meiosis I, the diploid level is reduced from two to one, which is referred to as a reduction division. Meiosis II and mitosis are not reduction divisions like meiosis I because the number of chromosomes remains the same; hence, meiosis II is called equatorial division.

Ivy Acosta · Answer

undefined Daughter cells produced by meiosis are haploid, have half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell, and are genetically distinct from each other and the parent cell due to crossing over and random assortment of homologous chromosomes. Daughter cells produced by mitosis are diploid, have the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell, and are genetically identical to each other and the parent cell.