The purpose of meiosis is to produce gametes, or sex cells, with half the genetic material of the parent cells, thereby maintaining the chromosome number of the species and promoting genetic diversity through crossing over or recombination

. Meiosis is a two-step process of cell division that results in the formation of four haploid daughter cells, each containing half as many chromosomes as the parent cell

. This process is essential for sexual reproduction and occurs in the testes in males and in the ovaries in females