Individual Variation: Sexual Reproduction

Question 1

What factors of sexual reproduction contribute to variation amongst individuals of the same species?

Answer 1

• meiosis
• chance fertilisation
• random mating

Question 2

How does meiosis contribute to variation amongst individuals of the same species?

Answer 2

• during meiosis, there is a rearrangement of shuffling of the genetic material:
• the random arrangement of homologous chromosomes on the equator
• crossing-over when bivalents form
• resulting in the formation of a new combination of alleles

Question 3

How does chance fertilisation contribute to variation amongst individuals of the same species?

Answer 3

• during fertilisation the genetic material from the female and male gametes recombines
• as a result a variety of genotypes are formed in the offspring

Question 4

How does random mating contribute to variation amongst individuals of the same species?

Answer 4

• means that every female gamete, with her particular genotype, has an equal chance to be fertilised by every male gamete, with his particular genotype in the population