at the end of meiosis II, each of the haploid sex cells has only half the number of chromosomes as the origianl diploid cell. Why is this important?
2007-01-18 10:16:30 · 3 answers · asked by lize 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
If the gametes (egg and sperm) fused, each with a diploid number of chromosomes the resulting child would have 96 chromosomes. Successive generations would have an exponential increase in chromosome count, resulting in an unwieldy genome that would cripple the reproductive fitness of the species.
2007-01-18 10:21:34 · answer #1 · answered by kano7_1985 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Those haploid sex cells are intended to join with others to form a diploid zygote. That's why gametes must have half as many chromosomes.
2007-01-18 18:20:34 · answer #2 · answered by ecolink 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is important to keep the number of chromosomes in the species constant. If this does not happen, every time sperm fertilizes ovum the number of chromosomes will be doubled.
2007-01-18 18:22:20 · answer #3 · answered by The EMA 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋