Question

stages of meiosis with picture

Answer 1

In many ways, meiosis is a lot like mitosis. The cell goes through similar stages and uses similar strategies to organize and separate chromosomes. In meiosis, however, the cell has a more complex task. It still needs to separate sister chromatids (the two halves of a duplicated chromosome), as in mitosis. But it must also separate homologous chromosomes, the similar but nonidentical chromosome pairs an organism receives from its two parents.

These goals are accomplished in meiosis using a two-step division process. Homologue pairs separate during a first round of cell division, called meiosis I. Sister chromatids separate during a second round, called meiosis II.

Since cell division occurs twice during meiosis, one starting cell can produce four gametes (eggs or sperm). In each round of division, cells go through four stages: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.