Cell Cycle,

Division &
Chromosomes
Additional Support Materials
Topic Notes i.e. animations, quizzes,
pictures,  worksheets

  Animation of the cell cycle 

(provided by: cells alive)
The Cell Cycle
Cell Cycle&Mitosis tutorial and Qu's
(The Biology Project, University of Arizona)
   
Animation of Mitosis 
  
 (provided by: cells alive)
Cell Division
Animationof Mitosis (v. good) 
(prodivded by: thelifewire.com)
 Mitosis
o Mitosis and Asexual Reproduction Mitosis - labelled diagram  
(provided by: Access Excellence)
 Meiosis
o Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction Comparison of Mitosis and Meiosis 
o The Advantages of Sexual (provided by: Access Excellence)
Reproduction
NEW Mitosis & Meiosis
   interactive 
(provided by: Biology in Motion)

  Chromosome (picture)  
(provided by: Access Excellence)

DNA and Chromosomes

Human Chromosomes (picture) 
(provided by: Access Excellence)
 Homologous Chromosomes
Cell Division & Reproduction Quiz 
  (provided by: nelsonthornes.com)

 
 

The Cell Cycle

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Cells are not static structures, but are created and die. The life of a cell is called the cell cycle and has
four phases:

 
  In different cell types the cell cycle can last from hours to years. For example bacterial cells can divide
every 30 minutes under suitable conditions, skin cells divide about every 12 hours on average, liver cells
every 2 years.

The mitotic phase can be sub-divided into four phases (prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase).
Mitosis is strictly nuclear division, and is followed by cytoplasmic division, or cytokinesis, to complete cell
division. The growth and synthesis phases are collectively called interphase (i.e. in between cell division).
Mitosis results in two “daughter cells”, which are genetically identical to each other, and is used for growth
and asexual reproduction.

Cell Division by Mitosis

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Mitosis is a type of cell division that produces genetically identical cells.  During mitosis DNA replicates in
the parent cell, which divides into two new cells, each containing an exact copy of the DNA in the parent
cell.  The only source of genetic variation in the cells is via mutations.

 This is when the cell is not dividing, but is carrying

out its normal cellular functions.

 chromatin not visible

Interphase  DNA, histones and centrioles all replicated

 Replication of cell organelles e.g. mitochondria,

occurs in the cytoplasm.

Prophase  chromosomes condense and become visible –

this prevents tangling with other chromosomes.

 Due to DNA replication during interphase, each

chromosome consists of two identical sister
chromatids connected at the centromere

 centrioles move to opposite poles of cell

 nucleolus disappears

 phase ends with the breakdown of the nuclear

 membrane

 spindle fibres (microtubules) connect centrioles to

chromosomes
Metaphase  chromosomes align along equator of cell and
attaches to a spindle fibre by its centromere.

 centromeres split, allowing chromatids to separate

 chromatids move towards poles, centromeres

first, pulled by kinesin (motor) proteins walking
Anaphase along microtubules (the track)

 Numerous mitochondria around the spindle

provide energy for movement

 spindle fibres disperse

 nuclear membranes from around each set of

Telophase chromatids

 nucleoli form

 In animal cells a ring of actin filaments forms

round the equator of the cell, and then tightens to
Cytokinesis form a cleavage furrow, which splits the cell in
two.
 
 In plant cells vesicles move to the equator, line up
  and fuse to form two membranes called the cell
plate. A new cell wall is laid down between the
 
membranes, which fuses with the existing cell
wall.

 Mitosis and Asexual Reproduction

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Asexual reproduction is the production of offspring from a single parent using mitosis. The offspring are
therefore genetically identical to each other and to their “parent”- in other words they are clones. Asexual
reproduction is very common in nature, and in addition we humans have developed some new, artificial
methods. The Latin terms in vivo (“in life”, i.e. in a living organism) and in vitro (“in glass”, i.e. in a test
tube) are often used to describe natural and artificial techniques.
 Meiosis
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Meiosis is a form of cell division. It starts with DNA replication, like mitosis, but then proceeds with two
divisions one immediately after the other. Meiosis therefore results in four daughter cells rather than the
two cells formed by mitosis. It differs from mitosis in two important aspects:

 The chromosome number is halved from the diploid number (2n) to the haploid number (n). This
is necessary so that the chromosome number remains constant from generation to generation.
Haploid cells have one copy of each chromosome, while diploid cells have homologous pairs of
each chromosome.
 The chromosomes are re-arranged during meiosis to form new combinations of genes. This
genetic recombination is vitally important and is a major source of genetic variation. It means for
example that of all the millions of sperm produced by a single human male, the probability is that
no two will be identical.

You don’t need to know the details of meiosis at this stage (It's covered in module 5).
Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction  [back to top]

Sexual reproduction is the production of offspring from two parent using gametes. The cells of the
offspring have two sets of chromosomes (one from each parent), so are diploid.  Sexual reproduction
involves two stages:

 Meiosis- the special cell division that makes haploid gametes

 Fertilisation- the fusion of two gametes to form a diploid zygote

The Advantages of Sexual Reproduction

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For most of the history of life on Earth, organisms have reproduced only by asexual reproduction. Each
individual was a genetic copy (or clone) of its “parent”, and the only variation was due to random genetic
mutation. The development of sexual reproduction in the eukaryotes around one billion years ago led to
much greater variation and diversity of life. Sexual reproduction is slower and more complex than
asexual, but it has the great advantage of introducing genetic variation (due to genetic recombination in
meiosis and random fertilisation). This variation allows species to adapt to their environment and so to
evolve. This variation is clearly such an advantage that practically all species can reproduce sexually.
Some organisms can do both, using sexual reproduction for genetic variety and asexual reproduction to
survive harsh times.

DNA and Chromosomes

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The DNA molecule in a single human cell is 99 cm long, so is 10 000 times longer than the cell in which it
resides (< 100mm). (Since an adult human has about 1014 cells, all the DNA is one human would stretch
about 1014 m, which is a thousand times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.) In order to fit into
the cell the DNA is cut into shorter lengths and each length is tightly wrapped up with histone proteins to
form a complex called chromatin. During most of the life of a cell the chromatin is dispersed throughout
the nucleus and cannot be seen with a light microscope. At various times parts of the chromatin will
unwind so that genes on the DNA can be transcribed. This allows the proteins that the cell needs to be
made.
Just before cell division the DNA is replicated, and more histone proteins are synthesised, so there is
temporarily twice the normal amount of chromatin. Following replication the chromatin then coils up even
tighter to form short fat bundles called chromosomes. These are about 100 000 times shorter than fully
stretched DNA, and therefore 100 000 times thicker, so are thick enough to be seen under the
microscope. Each chromosome is roughly X-shaped because it contains two replicated copies of the
DNA. The two arms of the X are therefore identical. They are called chromatids, and are joined at the
centromere. (Do not confuse the two chromatids with the two strands of DNA.) The complex folding of
DNA into chromosomes is shown below.

micrograph of a single chromosome

Chromatin           DNA + histones at any stage of the cell cycle

Chromosome       compact X-shaped form of chromatin formed
(and visible) during mitosis
Chromatid           single arm of an X-shaped chromosome

 
Homologous Chromosomes
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If a dividing cell is stained with a special fluorescent dye and examined under a microscope during cell
division, the individual chromosomes can be distinguished. They can then be photographed and studied.
This is a difficult and skilled procedure, and it often helps if the chromosomes are cut out and arranged in
order of size.
This display is called a karyotype, and it shows several features:

 Different species have different number of chromosomes, but all members of the same species
have the same number. Humans have 46, chickens have 78, goldfish have 94, fruit flies have 8,
potatoes have 48, and so on. The number of chromosomes does not appear to be related to the
number of genes or amount of DNA.

 The chromosomes are numbered from largest to smallest.

 Chromosomes come in pairs, called homologous pairs ("same shaped"). So there are two
chromosome number 1s, two chromosome number 2s, etc, and humans really have 23 pairs of
chromosomes. Homologous chromosomes are a result of sexual reproduction, and the
homologous pairs are the maternal (inherited from the mother) and paternal (inherited from the
father) versions of the same chromosome, so they have the same sequence of genes

 One pair of chromosomes is different in males and females. These are called the sex
chromosomes, and are non-homologous in one of the sexes. In humans the sex chromosomes
are homologous in females (XX) and non-homologous in males (XY). (In birds it is the other way
round!) The non-sex chromosomes are sometimes called autosomes, so humans have 22 pairs
of autosomes, and 1 pair of sex chromosomes.

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