Do all the gametes formed from a parent organism have the same genetic composition (identical DNA copies of the parental genome)? Analyse the situation with the background of gametogenesis and provide or give suitable explanation.
The gametes of a parent do not have the same genetic composition because they do not have identical copies of DNA. In the pachytene and diplotene stages of meiosis-I, the phenomenon of crossing over and chiasma formation take place between homologous chromosomes. This shifts segments of DNA from one chromatid to another (homologous chromosomes) in a random manner resulting in several new combinations of DNA sequences. As a result, when meiotic division is completed, gametes possess DNA with varying degree of variations.