During sexual reproduction, novel mixtures of alleles are generated. Why is this?

a. in all diploid species, two alleles exist for every gene

b. a diploid individual has two different alleles for every gene

c. every gamete produced by a diploid individual has several different alleles of a single gene

d. during meiosis, the segregation of homologs is not random and different gametes end up with similar alleles of each gene

e. none of the above

e. none of the above

Explanation:

Prophase-I of meiosis I include the pairing of homologous chromosomes followed by alignment of these pairs on the cell's equator in metaphase I.

During anaphase-I, the homologous chromosomes are separated from each other and begin to move towards opposite poles. Each homologous pair of chromosomes consists of one maternal and one paternal chromosome carrying corresponding alleles for the genes.

The separation of these homologous chromosomes during anaphase-I is random which means that each member of a homologous pair is randomly distributed to one of the poles. The independent separation of homologous chromosomes to the opposite poles results in unique allelic combinations in gametes.