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subwayislife

Could someone please give a simple explanation of independent assortment in meiosis?

Reply 1

TSR Jessica

Sorry you've not had any responses about this. :frown:

Are you sure you've posted in the right place? :smile:

Here's a link to our subject forum which should help get you more responses if you post there. :redface:

Just quoting in Fox Corner so she can move the thread if needed :wizard:

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Reply 2

username2396569

Original post by subwayislife

Could someone please give a simple explanation of independent assortment in meiosis?

Okay, so in a normal diploid cell, you have 23 pairs of chromosomes. These are called homologous pairs, and one chromosome from each pair is from your mother and 1 chromosome from each pair is from your father. Now, meiosis occurs in 2 steps; meiosis I produces 2 cells with half the amount of chromosomes of the original cell, and meiosis II is pretty much the same as mitosis (it separates the replicated DNA rather than the chromosomes). In meiosis I, the chromosomes line up on the cell equator during metaphase, and the way they do so is random. This is independent assortment. I'll simplify this a bit by using an example of a cell with only 3 homologous pairs (6 chromosomes in total). During meiosis I, there are a number of combinations that the chromosomes could divide, for example, let's say that paternal chromosomes are called P and maternal chromosomes are called M, the combinations could be MMP to one daughter cell and PPM to the other cell, or it could be PMP to one cell and MPM to the other cell etc etc. In summary, the combination of paternal and maternal chromosomes that go to each gamete is random.

If there's anything you don't understand then let me know