The Cell Cycle Flashcards
What is the cell cycle?
- division of a cell resulting in formation of two genetically identical daughter cells.
What happens during interphase?
- DNA is replicated and checked for errors in the nucleus
- protein synthesis occurs in cytoplasm
- mitochondria grow and divide, increasing in number in the cytoplasm
- normal metabolic processes of cells occur
What are the three stages of interphase called?
- G1
- S
- G2
What happens in the G1 phase of interphase?
- first growth phase
- proteins from which organelles are synthesised and produced and organelles replicate
- the cell increases in size
What happens in the S phase of interphase?
- synthesis
- DNA is replicated in the nucleus
What happens in G2 phase of interphase?
- second growth phase
- cell continues to increase in size
- energy stores are increased
- duplicated DNA is checked for errors
What phases are in the cell cycle?
- interphase
- mitosis
- cytokinesis
What is mitosis?
- nuclear division
What is cytokinesis?
- cytoplasm divides and two cells are produced
When does the G0 stage happen permanently?
- differentiation: cell that has become specialised for specific function can no longer divide
- DNA become damaged, so no longer viable and won’t divide
What is the G0 phase?
- name given to the phase when the cell leaves the cell cycle
- temporary or permanently
When might the GO stage happen temporarily?
- white blood cells in an immune response
What do checkpoints do in the cell cycle?
- control mechanisms
- monitor and verify whether the process at each stage of the cell cycle have been accurately completed before the cell is allows to progress to next stage
What is the G1 checkpoint and what does it check for?
- end of G1 phase and before S phase
- checks for: cell size, nutrients, growth, DNA damage
What is the G2 checkpoint and what does it check for?
- end of G2 phase before mitosis
- checks for: cell size, DNA replication and DNA damage
What is the spindle assembly checkpoint and what does it check for?
- at the point in mitosis where all chromosomes are attached to spindles and aligned
- checks for: chromosome attachment to spindle
What happens if a checkpoint fails?
- cell is fixed/modified
- apoptosis (self destruction)
What is the difference between mitosis and cytokinesis?
- mitosis is the process of replicating and dividing the genome
- cytokinesis is the physical division of the cell
What is the importance of the G2 checkpoint?
- DNA has been checked for errors
- change in sequence of bases is a mutation
- leads to change in amino acid sequence
- function of protein dependent on 3D shape/tertiary structure
- tertiary structure dependent on primary structure
- primary structure is sequence of amino acids