Final answer:
After meiosis, each new cell contains 50% of the original cell's DNA, resulting in haploid cells with one allele for each gene, allowing diploid restoration upon fertilization.
Step-by-step explanation:
The percentage of DNA of the original cell present in each new cell after meiosis is B. 50%. Meiosis is a cell division process that reduces the chromosome number by half, resulting in four genetically unique gametes. Each gamete contains 50% of the original cell's DNA, which equates to one allele for each gene. This occurs because meiosis consists of two rounds of division: meiosis I and meiosis II. In meiosis I, homologous chromosomes are separated, and in meiosis II, sister chromatids are separated.
Since meiosis starts with a diploid cell that has two copies of each chromosome, by the end of meiosis II, each resulting gamete is haploid with one copy of each chromosome, forming 50% of the DNA content of the original diploid cell. This halving of the chromosome number allows for the restoration of the diploid state when two haploid gametes fuse during fertilization.