How does genetic variation occur in meiosis?

There are three ways that the cells produced in meiosis are different from each other and from the parent cells:1) Independent assortment: this is the idea that during metaphase 1 and 2 pairs of homologous chromosomes randomly line up. This means that there are different combinations of alleles that can occur in each of the four daughter cells.2) Genetic recombination: This is the crossing over and swapping of genetic material between chromatids of pairs of homologous chromosomes.3) Random fertilisation: This is the idea that once meiosis is over, the gametes produced (sperm and egg) randomly come together to form a zygote.

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