Cell Cycle Flashcards
Gamete
An organism’s reproductive cells.
Binary fission
Asexual reproduction by a separation of the body into two new bodies.
Gene
The basic physical and functional unit of heredity.
Chromosome
Small bodies in the nucleus of a cell that carry the chemical “instructions” for reproduction of the cell.
Chromatid
One of two identical halves of a replicated chromosome.
Centromere
The fundamental chromosomal structure where proteins nucleate to form kinetochores that bind to spindle microtubules and mediate chromosome segregation during cell division.
Homologous Chromosome
Homologous chromosomes are similiar but not identical. Each carries the same genes in the same order, but the alleles for each trait may not be the same.
Diploid
a cell or organism that has paired chromosomes, one from each parent. In humans, cells other than human sex cells, are diploid and have 23 pairs of chromosomes.
Haploid
The quality of a cell or organism having a single set of chromosomes.
Zygote
Fertilized egg cell that results from the union of a female gamete (egg, or ovum) with a male gamete (sperm).
Karyotype
An individual’s collection of chromosomes.
Cell Cycle
The series of events that take place in a cell that cause it to divide into two daughter cells.
Interphase
The stage in the life cycle of a cell where the cell grows and DNA is replicated.
Mitosis
A part of the cell cycle, in which, replicated chromosomes are separated into two new nuclei.
Cytokinesis
The part of the cell division process during which the cytoplasm of a single eukaryotic cell divides into two daughter cells.
