1.6 Cell division Flashcards
Why do cells divide?
Growth - multicellular organisms increase their size by increasing their number of cells via mitosis
Asexual Reproduction - certain eukaryotic organims my reproduce asexually via mitosis (e.g. vegetative reproduction)
Tissue Repair - replacing dead/damaged cells
Embryonic Development - a fertilized egg (zygote) will undergo mitosis and differentiation in order to develop into an embryo
If an organisms grows larger, it needs
more cells, AND cells need to have a copy of the organism’s DNA
Cell division allows for __________ of the organisms by producing more cells, and it also allows for more _____________ to occur
growth, cell differentiation
Mitosis occurs most frequently in
developing embryos
New cells are also needed on a regular basis to ___________ dead, damaged, or infected cells
replace
Cell division (specifically through mitosis) is also used in
asexual reproduction (self-replication)
Cell cycle
series of events through which cells pass to divide and create two identical daughter cells
Interphase
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
Cytokinesis
Every eukaryote has genes on…
chromosomes - storage units of DNA in the nucleus
Each chromosome has a partner…
(homologous chromosomes) - one from each parent. Both copies are required for the cell to function.
Pair of chromosomes with the same gene sequence, loci, chromosomal length, and centromere location
Different species have different chromosome numbers:
Humans = 23 pairs (n = 23)
Diploid number (2n) = 46
Gametes
(sex cells - sperm and eggs) are haploid (n).
They have a half set of chromosomes, as they will pair up with the other half in fertilization.
centromere
the part of a chromosome that links sister chromatids
centrioles
organise spindle microtubules
Spindle microtubules
(also referred to as spindle fibres)
Sister chromatids
are duplicated chromosomes attached by a centromere
After anaphase when the sister chromatids separate they should then be referred to as daughter chromosomes
Why do chromosomes supercoil?
Human cells are on average 10𝝻m in diameter and the nucleus within each is less than 5𝝻m in diameter.
Human chromosomes are 15mm to 85mm (15,000𝝻m to 85,000𝝻m) in length
Chromosomes need to be stored compactly to fit within the nuclei of cells
This problem becomes more acute during mitosis when chromosomes need to be short and compact enough that they can be separated and moved to each end of the cell
How chromosomes supercoil?
Strain is places on a DNA helix by overwinding or underwinding of the helix
This causes the DNA molecule to coil back on itself becoming shorter and wider
Note: in eukaryotes, proteins called histones aid the process
Interphase
part of the cell cycle that does not involve division; majority of life cycle