Genetic variety yet speciation in zygotes

[Loren Booda]

How does meosis or mitosis achieve great genetic variety in zygotes (passing on just 1/2 of one parent's genes to the offspring), yet maintains the DNA structure of the vital phenotypes for the species?

Back to Bio 101.

[Monique]

If you are talking about zygotes, you are talking about meiosis :)

It is said that about 40 cross-over events happen per meiosis, reshuffling the genomes. All the genes are still in order and thus the buildplan is still the same, just the variation of the genes itself are different on each chromosome.