Why is sexual reproduction a more important source of genetic variation than asexual reproduction?

Answer 1

Sexual reproduction gets its source of genetic variation from crossing-over and genetic recombination.

Crossing-over
As a cell is formed during meiosis in prophase I, each chromosome matches up with its opposite chromosome that is the same size. These chromosomes are both maternal (from the mother) and paternal (from the father). Then, the bottoms of these chromosomes exchange genetic information by replacing the bottom of one of their strand. Here's a picture to help explain:

Genetic recombination
When a cell undergoes meiosis, it gets either its mother's or father's chromosome for each cell. The chances for each of these is completely random, so it produces genetic diversity instead of it all coming from one parent.

I found this animation that might be helpful: https://tutor.hix.ai

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Nicholas Ahn

Sexual reproduction involves the combination of genetic material from two parent organisms, resulting in offspring with unique genetic combinations, promoting increased genetic diversity. Asexual reproduction, in contrast, typically produces offspring genetically identical to the parent, limiting variation.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.