Final answer:
Independent assortment during meiosis produces a large number of possible gamete combinations, contributing to genetic diversity in a species. For humans, this manifests in 2^23 or over 8 million unique gametes, ensuring a high degree of genetic variation among offspring.
Step-by-step explanation:
Independent Assortment in Genetic Variation
Independent assortment is crucial for creating genetic variation within a species. This process occurs during meiosis, where chromosomes assort randomly into gametes. Genetic recombination, including crossing-over and independent assortment, leads to diverse combinations of genes. In humans, which have 23 pairs of chromosomes, the number of different possible gametes an individual can produce is 223, or 8,388,608 distinct combinations.
Contribution to Genetic Diversity
Independent assortment generates genetic diversity by ensuring that each gamete contains a random mixture of maternal and paternal chromosomes. This randomness contributes to genetic variation, which is further amplified through crossing-over and random fertilization. The vast number of possible combinations means that the likelihood of any two individuals producing genetically identical offspring (barring identical twins) is incredibly small, contributing to the uniqueness of each individual within a species.