Final answer:
Recombination is an important and distinct feature of meiosis, occurring during prophase I and leading to genetic diversity through crossing-over events between homologous chromosomes.
Step-by-step explanation:
An important and distinct feature of meiosis is recombination. This occurs during prophase I when homologous chromosomes pair up in a process called synapsis. The formation of the synaptonemal complex helps to support the crossing-over of DNA between homologous chromosomes, leading to genetic diversity due to the exchange of DNA segments. This crossing-over results in recombination nodules, which are protein assemblies that mark the sites of crossover events. These events are critical for the production of genetically unique haploid cells.
The recombination during meiosis is a key difference from mitosis, where such genetic exchange does not occur. In addition, meiosis includes two rounds of cell division – meiosis I and meiosis II. In meiosis I, also known as reduction division, homologous chromosomes are separated, leading to cells with half the chromosome number of the parental cell. Meiosis II is similar to mitosis, where the separation of sister chromatids occurs, resulting in four unique haploid cells that contribute to genetic variability in organisms.