Question

In human, meiosis is completed in a few hours at the most.

a) True

b) False

Answer 1

Option b-False is correct.

In humans, males particularly, meiosis takes about 74 hours for completion. In human females, meiosis is arrested at prophase 1 in immature sex cells in fetal ovaries. They remain in this precursor egg cell, or primary oocyte phase until puberty when hormones cause a resumption of meiosis for one to several cells each month. They proceed to the 1st and 2nd reduction divisions and once again stop developing. At this stage they are secondary oocytes. When a secondary oocyte is finally released from the ovaries into the fallopian tube (during ovulation), the egg still has not completed the last stage of meiosis. That happens only at conception as a result of chemical changes that occur when the main part of a sperm cell enters the ovum. Thus, meiosis requires more than just a few hours to complete in humans.