Question

which explanation can the student form to describe how mitosis contributes to maintaining genetic continuity?
a. mitosis increases genetic variation through the recombination of alleles.
b. mitosis causes alleles to independently assort from each other during division.
c. mitosis prevents mutations from occurring during replication of the genetic information.
d. mitosis produces daughter cells with the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell.

Explanation:

• Option A: Mitosis does not increase genetic variation through allele recombination. That is a feature of meiosis (specifically crossing - over).
• Option B: Independent assortment of alleles occurs during meiosis (specifically in metaphase I of meiosis I), not mitosis.
• Option C: Mitosis does not prevent mutations during DNA replication. Mutations can still occur during the S - phase (which is part of the cell cycle that precedes mitosis).
• Option D: Mitosis is a process of cell division where a parent cell divides to produce two daughter cells. The daughter cells have the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell (in somatic cells of most organisms). This helps in maintaining genetic continuity as the genetic information (in terms of chromosome number) is preserved from one generation of cells to the next.

Answer:

D. Mitosis produces daughter cells with the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell.