How can meiosis increase genetic diversity

Search for:. Genetic Variation in Meiosis Learning Outcomes Understand how meiosis contributes to genetic diversity. Try It. Did you have an idea for improving this content?

Reece, J. Urry, M. Denise Granger. Feb 17, Prophase 1. Explanation: It occurs during the crossing over process in prophase 1 of meiosis. Related questions How does meiosis 1 differ from meiosis 2? What is meiosis? How many chromosomes are present in telophase ii? Why does nondisjunction cause mutation? When these changes occur, they may provide either a beneficial phenotypic change or a nonbeneficial one. Over time, processes such as natural selection favor organisms with mutations that are beneficial.

If these changes provide enough of a benefit in the sexual reproduction of an organism, the mutations will become more prevalent in the population as a whole. Figure The sea anemone order Actiniaria reproduces via asexual reproduction. In organisms like the sea anemone that reproduce without meiosis, the opportunity for introducing genetic variation into a population is very limited.

Courtesy of Laszlo Ilyes. Some rights reserved. One significant advantage for genetic variation produced by sexual reproduction over the consistency of asexual reproduction is seen with viral disease.

In many species that produce asexually, such as the sea anemone, a single virus may have devastating effects on a population Figure In sexually reproducing organisms with a varied gene pool, a virus will likely have a less detrimental effect because some of the genetic variations that arise may provide some degree of resistance to the virus.

In humans, for example, gene variants that confer resistance to viruses have probably been favored by natural selection. For example, a study in from the University of Milan analyzed 52 populations worldwide and identified human genes that modulate susceptibility to viral infections.

Energy Flow 3. Carbon Cycling 4. Climate Change 5: Evolution 1. Evolution Evidence 2. Natural Selection 3. Classification 4. Cladistics 6: Human Physiology 1. Digestion 2.

The Blood System 3. Disease Defences 4. Gas Exchange 5. Homeostasis Higher Level 7: Nucleic Acids 1. DNA Structure 2. Transcription 3.