Mitosis.docx

Mitosis, a process of cell duplication, or reproduction, during which one cell gives rise to two genetically identical daughter cells. Strictly applied, the term mitosis is used to describe the duplication and distribution of chromosomes, the structures that carry the genetic information. Prior to the onset of mitosis, the chromosomes have replicated and the proteins that will form the mitotic spindle have been synthesized. Mitosis begins at prophase with the thickening and coiling of the chromosomes. The nucleolus, a rounded structure, shrinks and disappears. The end of prophase is marked by the beginning of the organization of a group of fibres to form a spindle and the disintegration of the nuclear membrane. The chromosomes, each of which is a double structure consisting of duplicate chromatids, line up along the midline of the cell at metaphase. In anaphase each chromatid pair separates into two identical chromosomes that are pulled to opposite ends of the cell by the spindle fibres. During telophase, the chromosomes begin to decondense, the spindle breaks down, and the nuclear membranes and nucleoli re-form. The cytoplasm of the mother cell divides to form two daughter cells, each containing the same number and kind of chromosomes as the mother cell. The stage, or phase, after the completion of mitosis is called interphase. Mitosis is absolutely essential to life because it provides new cells for growth and for replacement of worn-out cells. Mitosis may take minutes or hours, depending upon the kind of cells and species of organisms. It is influenced by time of day, temperature, and chemicals. Meiosis, also called reduction division, division of a germ cell involving two fissions of the nucleusand giving rise to four gametes, or sex cells, each possessing half the number of chromosomes of the original cell. The process of meiosis is characteristic of organisms that reproduce sexually. Such species have in the nucleus of each cell a diploid (double) set of chromosomes, consisting of two haploid sets (one inherited from each parent). These haploid sets are homologous—i.e., they contain the same kinds of genes, but not necessarily in the same form. In humans, for example, each set of homologous chromosomes contains a gene for blood type, but one set may have the gene for blood type A and the other set the gene for blood type B. Prior to meiosis, each of the chromosomes in the diploid germ cell has replicated and thus consists of a joined pair of duplicate chromatids. Meiosis begins with the contraction of the chromosomes in the nucleus of the diploid cell. Homologous paternal and maternal chromosomes pair up along the midline of the cell. Each pair of chromosomes—called a tetrad, or a bivalent—consists of four chromatids. At this point, the homologous chromosomes exchange genetic material by the process of crossing over (see linkage group). The homologous pairs then separate, each pair being pulled to opposite ends of the cell, which then pinches in half to form two daughter cells. Each daughter cell of this first meiotic division contains a haploid set of chromosomes. The chromosomes at this point still consist of duplicate chromatids. In the second meiotic division, each haploid daughter cell divides. There is no further reduction in chromosome number during this division, as it involves the separation of each chromatid pair into two chromosomes, which are pulled to the opposite ends of the daughter cells. Each daughter cell then divides in half, thereby producing a total of four different haploid gametes. When two gametes unite during fertilization, each contributes its haploid set of chromosomes to the new individual, restoring the diploid number.