Final answer:
DNA replication is essential for both mitosis and meiosis, ensuring that daughter cells receive identical genetic information. It occurs during the S phase of the cell cycle before these cell division processes take place.
Step-by-step explanation:
Both mitosis and meiosis.DNA replication is a critical event that takes place during the S phase of the cell cycle. This process ensures that each daughter cell receives an identical set of DNA, and it occurs in preparation for both mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis is a single round of cellular division typically resulting in two genetically identical diploid daughter cells.
In contrast, meiosis involves two rounds of nuclear division and results in four genetically distinct haploid cells. Sexual reproduction in eukaryotic organisms requires the production of these haploid cells which are achieved through meiosis. The S phase and the subsequent cell division processes are part of an over-arching sequence of events that are crucial to the growth, development, and reproduction of living organisms.