Can Mitosis Produce Gametes

Gametes are produced by mitosis (not meiosis) and after fertilization a diploid zygote is created. The single zygote cell never grows or divides my mitosis. It can only divide by meiosis to produce haploid cells once more, which then produce the main adult body.

Does mitosis produce gametes or somatic cells?

Mitosis is considered an “equational” form of cell division — it occurs in cells that do not produce gametes (e.g., somatic cells). During mitosis, a cell divides once to produce two daughter cells with genetic material identical to that of the original parent cell and to each other.

Why must meiosis and not mitosis be used to produce gametes?

Because the whole point of meiosis is to create haploid cells that can go on to fuse with haploid cells from another individual, to create a new individual that is genetically unique and distinct from either of its parents. If the germ cells that create gametes only underwent mitosis, then they wouldn’t become gametes.