Biological life cycle: Encyclopedia II - Biological life cycle - Diplontic life cycle

Biological life cycle - Diplontic life cycle

In gametic meiosis, instead of immediately dividing meiotically to produce haploid cells, the zygote divides mitotically to produce a multicellular diploid individual or a group of more diploid cells. Cells from the diploid individuals then undergo meiosis to produce gametes. The haploid gametes do not divide mitotically, however. Without growing larger, the gametes would fuse and produce the diploid zygote with gametes of the opposite type.

In the whole cycle, gametes are the only haploid cells; mitosis occurs only in the diploid phase.

The diploid multicellular individual is a diplont, hence a gametic meiosis is also called a diplontic life cycle. Diplonts are:

• Animals
• Some brown algae

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Diplontic life cycle", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki