

By the end of meiosis, the resulting reproductive cells, or gametes (opens in new tab), each have 23 genetically unique chromosomes. Germ cells contain a complete set of 46 chromosomes (23 maternal chromosomes and 23 paternal chromosomes). In humans, special cells called germ cells undergo meiosis and ultimately give rise to sperm or eggs. As mentioned above, it produces reproductive cells, such as sperm cells, egg cells, and spores in plants and fungi. Meiosis, on the other hand, is a specialized form of cell division that occurs in organisms that reproduce sexually. Multicellular eukaryotes, like humans, use mitosis to grow or heal injured tissues. Single-celled eukaryotes, such as amoeba and yeast, use mitosis to reproduce asexuallyand increase their population. Mitosis produces two daughter cells from one parent cell. Mitosis allows for cells to produce identical copies of themselves, which means the genetic material is duplicated from parent to daughter cells. meiosisĮukaryotes (opens in new tab) are capable of two types of cell division: mitosis and meiosis That's because sexually reproducing organisms receive a set of chromosomes from each parent: a maternal and paternal set. Each chromosome has a corresponding pair, orhomolog. When the sperm and egg combine during fertilization, the total chromosome number is restored. On the other hand, human sperm and egg cells have only 23 chromosomes, or half the chromosomes of a diploid cell. Because each chromosome has a pair, these cells are called "diploid" cells. This includes two sex chromosomes: two X chromosomes for females and one X and one Y chromosome for males.

Cells in the human body have 23 pairs of chromosomes, or 46 in total.
