what are the major differences between Mitosis and Meiosis?

Question

biology question.

Answer 1

mitosis - body cells (all except sex cells) reproducing...form diploid cells...the cells have 46 chromosomes

meiosis - sex cells reproducing...form haploid cells..the cells only have 23 chromosomes

Answer 2

Mitosis occurs within the D phase of the cell cycyle. Most cells in our bodies are stuck either in G1 or G0 as specialized or overspecialized cells, respectively. However, the cells destined for division divide through karyokinesis (the division of the nucleus and chromosomes) by either mitosis and meiosis.

All cells in most organisms' bodies replicate through mitosis to produce an exact replica of the original cell (a diploid cell will become diploid after replication and a haploid cell will become haploid after division) except the cells that produce the gametes (egg and sperm) - these cells go through meiosis.

Contrary to the incorrect answers of some of my fellow answerers here, mitosis does not only produce diploid cells. If a cell is diploid it will produce a diploid cell after mitosis. However, haploid cells can also go through mitosis and produce haploid cells.

Meiosis, on the other hand, can only be done by diploid cells ("Diploid" means that a cell has two copies of each chromosome while "haploid" means that a cell has only one copy of each chromosome). Meiosis always produces haploid cells from diploid cells. The number of chromosmes is halved.

Other differences are as follows:

Mitosis has four main stages: Prophase/Metaphase/Anaphase/Telophase
Meiosis has nine main stages: Prophase I / Metaphase I / Anaphase I / Telophase I / Interphase / Prophase II / Metaphase II / Anapahse II / Telophase II

Mitosis metaphase has chromosomes align on top of each other while in meiosis during metaphase I, the chromosomes form tetrads.

Answer 3

Mitosis is the splitting of DNA (the genetic material in the nucleus) when a normal body cell divided into two identical cells. With the two different chromosomes each duplicate themselves so that each of the two chromosomes are in each of the new cells.

Meiosis is the splitting of DNA to produce a reproductive cell (sperm or egg) and in this case each different chromosome separates to form a cell having only one strand of DNA. The result is two different kinds of reproductive cells, one having the one strand and one having the other. In meiosis there is more DNA repair because the DNA must be in excellent condition for reproduction.

Answer 4

Mitosis is how your body cells divide.This gives you diploid cells.

Meiosis is how sex cells, Sperm and Ova, form. This gives you haploid cells.