What occurs to the DNA content during the transition from a diploid cell to haploid cells in meiosis?

During meiosis, a diploid cell undergoes two rounds of cell division, ultimately leading to the formation of haploid cells. Initially, the diploid cell contains two complete sets of chromosomes.

As the meiosis process begins, the DNA undergoes replication during the S phase of the cell cycle, resulting in each chromosome consisting of two sister chromatids. However, during the first meiotic division (meiosis I), homologous chromosomes are separated into different cells, which effectively reduces the chromosome number in half. Each resulting cell at the end of meiosis I contains one set of chromosomes, and since these are haploid cells, the DNA content is halved compared to the original diploid cell.

Following this, the second meiotic division (meiosis II) separates the sister chromatids but does not change the haploid status of the cells. Therefore, the halving of the DNA content occurs specifically during the transition from diploid to haploid during meiosis I, making the answer that the DNA content is halved accurate.