Meiosis Flashcards
What does meiosis produce?
Haploid cells w/ genetic material for sexual reproduction
Briefly, what is meiosis?
Specialised cell division w/ 2 rounds of chromosome segregation
Briefly what happens in meiosis?
After DNA replication
(2n–>4n)
–> meiosis 1 = segregate homologas chromosomes (4n–>2n)
–> meiosis 2 = segregate sister chromatids (2n–>1n)
Why is meiosis advantageous?
Increases genetic diversity
- mix up maternal & paternal DNA in homologous recombination
- shuffle maternal & paternal sets of chromosomes
Which meiosis is most different to mitosis?
Meiosis 1
How is meiosis 1 so different to mitosis?
Prophase 1: homologous chromosomes pair & homologous recombination occurs
Metaphase 1 : sister chromatids only have 1 kinetochore
Anaphase 1: sister chromatids stay together
Telophase 1: No cytokinesis
What are the 5 stages of prophase 1?
- Leptotene (‘thin’)
- Zygotene (‘paired’)
- Pachyene (‘thick’)
- Diplotene (‘two’)
- Diakinesis (‘moving through’)
What happens in leptotene?
What about zygotene?
- Leptotene (‘thin’)
- condensation of sister chromatids - Zygotene (‘paired’)
- homologous chromosomes pair up
What happens in pachytene?
What about in diplotene?
- Pachyene (‘thick’)
- homologous chromosomes begin to exchange genetic material - Diplotene (‘two’)
- pairing is looser & sister chromatid pairs are visible
- crossing over
What happens in diakinesis?
- Diakinesis (‘moving through’)
- chromatid pairs separate, nuclear envelope breaks down & spindle forms
How do homologous chromosomes pair up?
Via complementary DNA sequences
Process called synapsis:
2 pairs of sister chromatids form a 4-chromosome bivalent
- joined by synaptonemal complex
What are synaptonemal complexes?
Protein structure formed between pairs of homologous chromosomes
What are the 3 elements of synaptonemal complexes?
Cohesins
Axial core
Transverse fibres
What are heteroduplexes?
DNA double helix composed of strands that originate from 2 diff duplexes
How do homologous strands find each other?
Rare event
- unless double stranded break occurs