Which processes result directly in the formation of cells with half the amount of genetic material that is characteristic of the species?

The process described here is meiosis. Meiosis has two general stages, meiosis I and meiosis II and at the end of these stages, the sex cells or gametes of an organism are formed. The gametes are haploid cells, they have half the amount of genetic material than somatic cells. During meiosis, one cell divides twice to form four daughter haploid cells.