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Meiosis is the cellular process that leads to genetic diversity through several mechanisms. This specialized form of cell division occurs only in organisms that reproduce sexually and results in the formation of gametes—sperm and eggs in animals, for example.

One of the key features of meiosis is the process of crossing over during prophase I, where homologous chromosomes exchange segments of DNA. This recombination results in new combinations of alleles, contributing significantly to genetic variation among offspring.

Additionally, meiosis involves two rounds of division, which reduces the chromosome number by half, and during metaphase I, the arrangement of chromosome pairs can vary, further enhancing diversity. The random assortment of chromosomes during gamete formation ensures that each gamete is genetically unique.

In contrast, other processes like mitosis, binary fission, and cloning serve different purposes. Mitosis produces identical daughter cells for growth and repair, binary fission is a method of asexual reproduction in prokaryotes that results in genetically identical offspring, and cloning leads to organisms that are genetically identical to the original. None of these processes contribute to genetic diversity in the same way that meiosis does.