A germ cell with 46 chromosomes undergoes meiosis. Which outcome regarding genetic variation arises through independent assortment during metaphase I?

💡 Explanation

Independent assortment shuffles maternal and paternal chromosomes randomly during metaphase I of meiosis, leading to novel combinations in daughter cells because each chromosome pair aligns independently; therefore, the daughter cells have varied genetic makeups, rather than simply identical copies or a uniform distribution. This differs from recombination or DNA repair.

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