Final answer:
The correct answer to the question is 'C. There is a reduction in the number of chromosomes in daughter cells' since this process only occurs during meiosis and not mitosis, where chromosome numbers remain unchanged in the daughter cells.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the differences between mitosis and meiosis, specifically what is not common to both processes. Mitosis and meiosis are both forms of nuclear division in eukaryotic cells but have different outcomes. Mitosis is a single division resulting in two genetically identical diploid daughter cells, while meiosis includes two divisions, resulting in four genetically unique haploid daughter cells.
DNA replication occurs before both mitosis and meiosis, ensuring that each daughter cell receives a complete set of genetic instructions. However, meiosis differs from mitosis significantly in meiosis I, where homologous chromosomes pair up, crossover occurs, and subsequent separation reduces the ploidy level from diploid to haploid, meaning that the number of chromosomes is halved in the resulting cells. This reduction does not occur during mitosis.
Referring to the initial question, option 'C. There is a reduction in the number of chromosomes in daughter cells' is NOT common to both mitosis and meiosis. In mitosis, the resulting daughter cells maintain the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell, whereas in meiosis, the chromosome number is reduced by half.
Therefore, to answer the student's question, the correct option is 'C. There is a reduction in the number of chromosomes in daughter cells' as this is not a shared characteristic of both mitosis and meiosis.