How do two daughter cells differ?

Answer 1

The parent cell will be diploid and contain paired chromosomes. The haploid cell will contain only one copy of each chromosome.

In humans for example there are 23 pairs of chromosomes. In a somatic cell, which is diploid, the 23 pairs are present. In a gamete (sperm or egg cell), which is haploid there are only 23 chromosomes - unpaired. This is so that when the sperm and egg meet at fertilisation there are 46 chromosomes - 23 pairs - the correct number for the organism.

Answer 2

How daughter-cells differ depends on the type of division that produced them!

At the end of mitosis, one cell has divided to form two daughter-cells, with the same genetic information as each other and as the mother-cell. However, the cytoplasm is not divided in the same precise way that the chromosomes are. So one daughter-cell may receive more mitochondria, for example, than the other. After mitosis, daughter-cells will probably differ, but not drastically, in the numbers of each organelle that they have in their cytoplasm. Meiosis consists of two successive divisions. During each division, there will be the same random division of the cytoplasm that happens in mitosis, but there also are significant, organized differences in the distribution of DNA. During prophase I, corresponding chromosomes of each set pair up (chromosome 3 from Dad with chromosome 3 from Mum, and so), then exchange corresponding segments of DNA. As a result of this crossing-over, no two daughter-cells will have the same combination of genes. During anaphase I, each pair of chromosomes is randomly separated (one to each pole of the spindle), so that even without any crossing-over no two daughter-cells would be likely to have the same combination of genes. This random distribution of chromosomes to each daughter-cell (known as independent assortment of homologous chromosomes) is something like repeatedly dealing a whole deck of cards into two hands. If the cards are shuffled before each deal, the hands are almost bound to be different every time.

In humans, each "hand" has 23 "cards", and the number of possible combinations within one hand (i.e. within one set of chromosomes) is more than 8 million. So the daughter-cells of meiosis I differ in having half the number of chromosomes of the mother cell, and the daughter-cells differ geneticallyfrom each other. The second division of meiosis is something like mitosis, in that each chromosome begins as two chromatids, which separate and go to opposite poles as daughter-chromosomes. Because of the crossing-over in prophase I, these daughter-chromosomes differ genetically from each other. In most cases, the number of chromosomes in the meiosis mother-cell is the diploid number, and the daughter-cells of both meiotic divisions are haploid. Mitosis can take place in haploid, diploid, triploid and other cells (although not in all species).

Answer 3

They are not. Daughter cells are genetically identical to parents cells, depending on the process the cell has undergone - mitosis or meiosis.

Either way, the chromosomes in the daughter cells will each have half of the parent's chromosome and half replicated.

Answer 4

Two daughter cells resulting from cell division are typically identical in genetic material, though minor variations can occur due to mutations. They may differ in size, shape, or specialization depending on the specific type of cell division and the roles they will play in the organism's body.