<em><u>There are three notable common traits of bacteria, 1) lack of membrane-bound organelles, 2) unicellular and 3) small (usually microscopic) size. Not all prokaryotes are bacteria, some are archaea, which although they share common physicals features to bacteria, are ancestrally different from bacteria.</u></em>
Crossing over – often, the sister homologous chromosomes of a cell exchange genetic material through recombination of genes.
Independent assortment/random fertilization – there are numerous variety of ways that the chromosomes of the gametes can combine, after meiosis, through fertilization to form a zygote
Mutation – on rare occasion, there is a slight and random change in the genes of a gametic cell caused by environmental factors.
