Final answer:
Meiosis is the type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number in daughter cells by half, ending with four haploid cells. It includes two stages, meiosis I and meiosis II, and is essential for producing gametes for sexual reproduction.
Step-by-step explanation:
If cell division reduces the number of chromosomes in the daughter cells by half, the type of cell division that occurred is called meiosis. Meiosis is a special type of cell division that produces haploid gametes, which are cells with half the number of chromosomes as the original cell. This process involves two rounds of division: meiosis I and meiosis II, resulting in four genetically unique haploid daughter cells. Unlike mitosis, which results in two diploid cells identical to the parent cell, meiosis introduces genetic variation and reduces the chromosome number by half. The purpose of meiosis is vital for sexual reproduction as it ensures that the resulting gametes—sperm or eggs—contain just one set of chromosomes that can combine with another gamete, maintaining the species-specific chromosome number.
In humans, for example, each parent cell going through meiosis will start with 46 chromosomes and end with four haploid cells each containing 23 chromosomes. These haploid cells are crucial for the formation of gametes. Comparatively, budding and binary fission are asexual reproduction processes observed in yeast and bacteria respectively, while mitosis is cell division occurring in somatic (body) cells.