Question

Which type of cell division takes place in gonads?
A. Mitosis
B. Amitosis
C. Meiosis
D. Binary fission

Answer 1

Hint: Gonads produce gametes. Gametes require a haploid set (n) of chromosomes. Hence, the cell division which reduces chromosome number to half occurs in gonads. This cycle of cell division is also known as reductional division.

Complete answer:
A gonad is a specialised organ in which germ cells are located. It is the duty of germ cells to generate haploid cells necessary for sexual reproduction. Gonads, especially testes and ovaries in humans thus, facilitate sexual reproduction. Typically, each cell has a fixed number of chromosomes in sexually reproductive organisms. These chromosomes must be distributed evenly to generate offspring of the same number of chromosomes in order to produce offspring. Meiotic division occurs in the gonads. It is a type of reductional division i.e. diploid chromosome number gets reduced to haploid in the daughter cells. This is because, in the germ cells, only half the amount of genetic material is needed. During fertilization, the two gamete cells (male and female) merge and the quantity of genetic material in the zygote are restored. In order to preserve the chromosome number of a species, this reduction in chromosome number takes place. Meiosis is further divided into two phases: meiosis I and meiosis II. Meiosis I is the main reductional division during which a diploid number of chromosomes become haploid. The next step meiosis II is equational division.

Hence, the correct answer is option C.

Note: The mechanism by which a parent cell splits into two or more daughter cells is called cell division. As part of a broader cell cycle, cell division occurs. There are two types of cell division seen in eukaryotic cells e.g. mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis is known as the equational division and it occurs only in the somatic cell.