The main function of meiosis is to produce gametes (e.g. egg/sperm cells). These are cells with half the number of chromosomes that are in a normal body cells. It is also to produce variation because during meiosis genes are switched round in homologous chromosomes (this is called crossing over) and the homologous chromosomes are independently assorted, which means different random mixtures of chromosomes end up in the gamete cells produced each time meiosis happens.
