Lupita Meiotic Errors and their Consequences Meiotic errors are alterations of a cell's chromosome number or structure.
Chromosomal alterations happen in both mitosis and meiosis.
But in some ways meiosis provides more opportunities for errors. This is because the three sources of genetic variation in meiosis can also be opportunities for errors. Crossing over in prophase I and independent assortment in anaphase I and anaphase II are major sources of genetic variation among sexually reproducing organisms. Each sexually reproduced organism is genetically unique, unlike the genetically identical offspring in mitosis. The benefits of having multiple sources of genetic variation are diversity and enhanced adaptability to changing environments.