Lecture 4

o Cell structure and function

o Viruses and bacterial cells
o Mitosis and Meiosis

Phorutai Pearngam (Pear)

[email protected]
Academic year 2023-2024
Overview of Cell structure and function

▪ Microscopy
▪ Eukaryotic cell’s structure and
function
• Genetic instruction
• The endomembrane system
• Energy producing organelles
• The cytoskeleton
• The cell boundary

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Microscopy
▪ Cells are usually too small to be seen by the naked eye
▪ Microscopes are used to visualize cells
▪ In a light microscope (LM), visible light is passed through a specimen and then through glass
lenses
▪ Lenses refract the light so that the image is magnified
https://profilab24.com/
▪ Three important parameters of microscopy:
▪ Magnification: The number of items larger an image is, than the real size of the object
▪ Resolution: The ability to distinguish between two separate points. The higher the resolution, the
greater detail that can be seen
▪ Contrast: Visible differences in brightness between parts of the sample

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Limitations of light microscopy
▪ Light microscopes can magnify effectively to about
1,000 times the size of the actual specimen
▪ Various techniques enhance contrast and enable cell
components to be stained or labeled
▪ The resolution of standard light microscopy is too low
to study organelles, the membrane-enclosed
structures in eukaryotic cells

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Electron microscopes (EMs) – Electron beam
▪ Two basic types of EMs are used to study subcellular structures
▪ Scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) focus a beam of electrons onto
the surface of a specimen, providing images that look 3-D
▪ Transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) focus a beam of electrons
through a specimen
▪ TEMs are used mainly to study the internal structure of cells

▪ Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) allows the preservation of specimens

at very low temperatures
• This allows visualization of structures in their cellular environment,
with no need for preservatives
• This method is used to complement X-ray crystallography in revealing
protein complexes and subcellular structures

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 Cell Structure Overview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URUJD5NEXC8
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Comparing Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
▪ The basic structural and functional unit of every organism is one of two types of
cells: prokaryotic or eukaryotic
▪ Basic features of all cells:
▪ Plasma membrane
▪ Semifluid substance called cytosol
▪ Chromosomes: carry genes
▪ Ribosomes: make proteins

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Comparing Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
Eukaryotic cells: Prokaryotic cells:
• DNA in a nucleus that is bounded by a double ▪ No nucleus
membrane ▪ DNA in an unbound region called the nucleoid
• Membrane-bound organelles ▪ No membrane-bound organelles
• Cytoplasm in the region between the plasma ▪ Cytoplasm bound by the plasma membrane
membrane and nucleus
• Much larger than prokaryotic cells

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Eukaryotic cell’s structure and function

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Genetic instruction: Nucleus and Ribosomes
▪ The nucleus contains most of the DNA in a eukaryotic cell
▪ Ribosomes use the information from the DNA to make proteins

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The Nucleus: Information Central
▪ The nuclear envelope encloses the nucleus,
separating it from the cytoplasm
▪ The nuclear envelope is a double membrane;
each membrane consists of a lipid bilayer
▪ A pore complex, regulate the entry and exit
of molecules from the nucleus
▪ The nuclear side of the envelope is lined by
the nuclear lamina, which is composed of
proteins filaments and maintains the shape
of the nucleus
▪ The nucleolus, located within the nucleus, is
the site of ribosome synthesis

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The Nucleus: Information Central DNA

▪ The complex of DNA molecule associated with proteins,

called chromatin Chromatin
▪ DNA is organized into discrete units called
chromosomes
▪ Chromatin condenses to form discrete chromosomes as
a cell prepares to divide

chromosomes

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https://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-a-chromosome
Ribosomes: Protein Factories
▪ Ribosomes are complexes made of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and protein
▪ Ribosomes build proteins in two locations:
• In the cytosol (free ribosomes)
• On the outside of the endoplasmic reticulum or the nuclear envelope
(bound ribosomes)

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The endomembrane system
▪ The endomembrane system consists of
▪ Nuclear envelope
▪ Endoplasmic reticulum
▪ Golgi apparatus
▪ Lysosomes
▪ Vacuoles
▪ Plasma membrane
▪ These components are either
continuous or connected via transfer
by vesicles

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The Endoplasmic Reticulum: Biosynthetic Factory
▪ The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) accounts for more
than half of the total membrane in many eukaryotic
cells
▪ The ER membrane is continuous with the nuclear
envelope
▪ There are two distinct regions of ER:
• Smooth ER, which lacks ribosomes
• Rough ER, whose surface is studded with
ribosomes

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▪ Functions of smooth ER:
• Synthesizes lipids
• Detoxifies drugs and poisons
• Stores calcium ions
▪ Functions of rough ER
• Bound ribosomes: secrete glycoproteins (proteins covalently bonded to
carbohydrates)
• Distributes transport vesicles, secretory proteins surrounded by
membranes
• A membrane factory for the cell

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The Golgi Apparatus: Shipping and Receiving Center
▪ The Golgi apparatus consists of flattened
membranous sacs called cisternae
▪ Functions of Golgi apparatus:
• Modifies products of the ER
• Manufactures certain macromolecules
• Sorts and packages materials into transport
vesicles

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Lysosomes: Digestive Compartments
▪ A lysosome is a membranous sac of hydrolytic enzymes, which are enzymes that work
best in an acidic environment, that can digest macromolecules
▪ Lysosomes carry out intracellular digestion in a variety of circumstances

Autophagy: Lysosomes also use

enzymes to recycle the cell’s own
organelles and macromolecules

Phagocytosis: Some types of cell can engulf

another cell and form a food vacuole, which
then fuses with a lysosome, whose enzymes
digest the food

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Vacuoles: Diverse Maintenance Compartments
▪ Vacuoles are large vesicles derived from the ER and Golgi apparatus
▪ Vacuoles perform a variety of functions in different kinds of cells
▪ Food vacuoles are formed by phagocytosis
▪ Contractile vacuoles, found in many freshwater protists, pump excess water out of cells
▪ Central vacuoles, found in many mature plant cells,
contain a solution called sap
▪ It is the plant cell’s main repository of inorganic
ions, including potassium and chloride
▪ The central vacuole plays a major role in the growth
of plant cells

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A review of the endomembrane system:

▪ The endomembrane system is a complex and dynamic player in

the cell’s compartmental organization

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Energy producing organelles: Mitochondria and chloroplasts
▪ Mitochondria are the sites of cellular respiration, the metabolic process that uses oxygen to
generate ATP
▪ Chloroplasts, found in plants and algae, are the sites of photosynthesis

▪ Peroxisomes are oxidative

organelles

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Mitochondria: Chemical Energy Conversion

▪ Mitochondria are found in nearly all eukaryotic cells

▪ They have a smooth outer membrane and an inner
membrane folded into cristae
▪ The inner membrane creates two compartments:
intermembrane space and mitochondrial matrix
▪ Some metabolic steps of cellular respiration are
catalyzed in the mitochondrial matrix
▪ Cristae present a large surface area for enzymes that
synthesize ATP

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Chloroplasts: Capture of Light Energy
▪ Chloroplasts contain the green pigment chlorophyll, as well as enzymes and other
molecules that function in photosynthesis
▪ Chloroplasts are found in leaves and other green organs of plants and in algae
▪ Chloroplast structure includes
• Inner membrane, outer membrane, intermembrane space
• Thylakoids: membrane-bound compartments inside
chloroplasts. They are the site of the light-dependent
reactions of photosynthesis. They are arranged into stacks
called grana.
• Stroma: the internal fluid filling up the inner space of the
chloroplasts which encircle the grana and the thylakoids.
Stroma contain chloroplast DNA, starch, and ribosomes
along with enzymes needed for the Calvin cycle in
photosynthesis.

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Peroxisomes: Oxidation
▪ Peroxisomes are specialized metabolic compartments bounded by a
single membrane
▪ They contain enzymes that remove hydrogen atoms from various
substances and transfer them to oxygen resulting in forming hydrogen
peroxide (H2O2) which later turn into water and oxygen

▪ Functions of peroxisomes
• Some use oxygen to break fatty acids into smaller
molecules, eventually used for fuel for respiration
• In the liver, they detoxify alcohol and other harmful
compounds
• Glyoxysomes, specialized peroxisomes, convert fatty
acid to carbohydrate. They are prevalent in the
germinating seeds in their fat-storing tissues.

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The cytoskeleton
▪ The cytoskeleton helps to support the cell and maintain its shape
▪ It interacts with motor proteins to produce cell motility
▪ Inside the cell, vesicles, and other organelles can use motor protein “feet” to travel along
tracks provided by the cytoskeleton

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Components of the Cytoskeleton

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Microtubules
▪ Constructed from globular proteins called tubulins
(+) end
▪ A tubulin dimer consists of two slightly different polypeptides, α-tubulin and β-
tubulin
▪ Microtubules grow in length by adding tubulin dimers and can also be
disassembled, growing and shrinking significantly during cellular activities.
▪ One end can accumulate or release tubulin dimers at a much higher rate, called
‘plus end’, than the other.

(-) end

▪ Functions of microtubules:
• Shaping the cell
• Cilia and Flagella: guiding movement of organelles
• Centrosomes: separating chromosomes during cell division

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Microtubules: Centrosomes

▪ In animal cells, microtubules grow out from a

centrosome, a region that is often located near the
nucleus
▪ These microtubules function as compression-
resisting girders of the cytoskeleton
▪ Within the centrosome is a pair of centrioles, each
composed of nine sets of triplet microtubules
arranged in a ring

https://sciencing.com/centrosome-definition-structure-
function-with-diagram-13717286.html

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Microtubules: Cilia and Flagella
▪ Some eukaryotic cells have flagella and cilia
▪ cellular extensions that contain microtubules as locomotor appendages to propel through water
▪ Cilia and flagella differ in number, size, and their beating patterns
• Motile cilia are large numbers on the cell surface. Flagella are usually limited to one or a few per cell
• Flagella are longer than cilia
• A flagellum has an undulating motion like the tail of a fish, but cilia have alternating power and
recovery strokes.

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Structure of a flagellum or motile cilium

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO-W8mvBa78 35
Microfilaments (Actin Filaments)
▪ Microfilaments are solid, built as a twisted double chain of actin
subunits
▪ A network of microfilaments helps support the cell’s shape
▪ They form a cortex inside the plasma membrane to help support the
cell’s shape
▪ Bundles of microfilaments make up the core of microvilli of intestinal
cells
▪ In muscle cells, actin works together with the protein myosin to allow
the muscles to contract and relax
Relax

Contract

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Microfilaments (Actin Filaments)

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Intermediate Filaments
▪ Intermediate filaments are strong strands that are found
throughout the cell, providing support, and being involved in the
movement of materials.
▪ Intermediate filaments range in diameter from 8 to 12
nanometers, larger than microfilaments but smaller than
microtubules.
▪ Intermediate filaments are more permanent cytoskeleton
fixtures than the other two classes.
▪ They support cell shape and fix organelles in place, for example,
the nucleus sits within a cage made of intermediate filaments.
▪ Intermediate filaments are most commonly known to be
anchored to adjacent cells.

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Microfilaments are primarily composed of globular actin protein
molecules. These filaments also consist of some filamentous
myosin protein molecules, which in association with the actin
filaments help in the contraction of muscle cells. Microfilaments
are found in the cells of microvilli, epithelial cells, muscle fibers,
etc. Pseudopodia and plasma membranes of fibroblasts also
possess microfilaments. They are contractile and help in cell
movement.

Microtubules are major components of the cytoskeleton. They are

found in all eukaryotic cells, and they are involved in mitosis, cell
motility, intracellular transport, and maintenance of cell shape.
Microtubules are composed of alpha- and beta-tubulin subunits
assembled into linear protofilaments.

Intermediate filaments are nearly hollow, non-contractile,

unbranched filaments. The filaments are composed of structural
proteins such as keratin, vimentin, and desmin. They are not
directly involved in the cell movement and only contribute to
mechanical strength, and maintenance of cell shape. The cytoplasm
of plant cells is devoid of intermediate filaments but they occur
prominently in the cell junctions and around the nucleus in animal
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cells.
The cell boundary: Cell wall and Plasma membrane
▪ Extracellular components and connections between cells help coordinate cellular
activities
▪ The plasma membrane is usually regarded as the boundary of the living cell
▪ Most cells synthesize and secrete materials to the outside of the cell
▪ These extracellular materials and structures are involved in many essential cellular
functions

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Cell Walls of Plants
▪ The cell wall is an extracellular structure that distinguishes plant cells from animal cells
▪ Fungi and some protists also have cell walls
▪ The cell wall protects the plant cell, maintains its shape, and prevents excessive uptake
of water
▪ Plant cell walls are made of cellulose fibers (microfibril)
embedded in other polysaccharides and protein

▪ Plant cell walls may have multiple layers:

▪ Primary cell wall: Relatively thin and flexible,
secreted first
▪ Secondary cell wall (in some cells): Added between
the plasma membrane and the primary cell wall
▪ Middle lamella: Thin layer between primary walls, https://www.sciencefacts.net/
containing polysaccharides called pectin
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Plant cell walls
The drawing shows the relationship
between primary and secondary cell walls
in several mature plant cells

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Extracellular matrix (ECM) of an animal cell

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Cell Junctions
▪ Neighboring cells often adhere, interact, and communicate via sites of direct physical
contact
▪ Plant cells: Plasmodesmata
• Channels that connect plant cells
• Through plasmodesmata, water and small solutes (and sometimes proteins and
RNA) can pass from cell to cell

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Cell Junctions
▪ Animal cells: tight junctions, desmosomes, and gap junctions
▪ Tight junctions
- Membranes of neighboring cells are pressed
together
- Preventing leakage of extracellular fluid

▪ Desmosomes (anchoring junctions)

- Fastening cells together into strong sheets
- Intermediate filaments made of strong keratin
proteins anchor in the cytoplasm
- Attach muscle cells
▪ Gap junctions (communicating junctions)
- Consist of membrane proteins extending from the
membranes of the two cells
- provide cytoplasmic channels between adjacent cells
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Overview of Viruses and bacterial cells
▪ Structure and Function of viruses
▪ Structure and Function of bacterial cells

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A virus : a nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat

▪ A virus is an infectious particle consisting of genes packaged in a protein coat

▪ Viruses are much simpler in structure than even prokaryotic cells
▪ Viruses can cause a wide variety of diseases
▪ They cannot reproduce or carry out metabolism outside of a host cell
▪ Viruses exist in a shady area between life-forms and chemicals, leading a kind of
“borrowed life”

https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Virus 51
Structure of Viruses
▪ Viruses are not cells
▪ A virus is a very small infectious particle consisting of
nucleic acid enclosed in a protein coat and, in some
cases, a membranous envelope
▪ The simple structure of viruses make them a useful
biological system
▪ Molecular experiments using these viruses provided
evidence that
▪ Viral genes are made of nucleic acids
▪ They were critical in working out the molecular
mechanisms; DNA replication, transcription, and
translation

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https://open.oregonstate.education/generalmicrobiology/chapter/introduction-to-viruses/
Structure of Viruses: Viral genomes
▪ Viral genomes may consist of either
• double- or single-stranded DNA
• double- or single-stranded RNA
▪ Viruses are classified as DNA viruses or RNA viruses
▪ The genome is either a single linear or circular molecule of the nucleic acid
▪ Viruses have between 3 and 2,000 genes in their genome

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https://snl.no/virusgenetikk
Structure of Viruses: Capsids and Envelopes
▪ A capsid is the protein shell that encloses the viral genome
▪ Capsids are built from protein subunits called capsomeres
▪ A capsid can have a variety of structures; associated viruses may be referred to as helical or
icosahedral viruses
▪ Viral envelopes are accessory structures that help viruses
infect hosts
▪ Derived from the membranes of the host cell, contain
host cell phospholipids and membrane proteins
▪ For instance, a membranous envelope surrounds the
capsids of influenza viruses and many other viruses
found in animals

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Structure of Viruses: Capsids and Envelopes
▪ Many of the most complex capsids are found among
the viruses that infect bacteria, called bacteriophages
(a.k.a. phages)
▪ They have an elongated capsid head that encloses
their DNA
▪ A protein tail piece attaches the phage to the host and
injects the phage DNA inside

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COVID-19 Animation: What Happens If You
Get Coronavirus?

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Structure and Function of bacterial cells

Structural and functional adaptations contribute to

prokaryotic success

Cell-surface Internal organization

structure and DNA

Motility Reproduction

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Cell-surface structure
▪ The cell wall maintains shape, protects the cell, and prevents it from bursting in a
hypotonic environment
▪ Most prokaryotes lose water and shrink away from their membrane, which inhibit cell
reproduction
▪ Most bacterial cell walls instead contain peptidoglycan, a network of sugar polymers cross-
linked by polypeptides
▪ Scientists can categorize many bacterial species according to differences in cell wall
composition using the Gram stain
▪ Gram-positive bacteria have simpler walls with a large amount of peptidoglycan
▪ Gram-negative bacteria have less peptidoglycan and are more complex with an outer
membrane that contains lipopolysaccharides

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▪ Gram-negative bacteria tend to be more resistant to antibiotics than gram-positive bacteria
▪ Many antibiotics target peptidoglycan and damage gram-positive bacterial cell walls
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Cell-surface structure
▪ Many prokaryotes have a sticky layer of polysaccharide or protein surrounding the cell wall,
called a capsule
▪ It can be dense and well-defined, or a slime layer if it is not well organized
▪ Both types enable adherence to the substrate or other individuals, prevent dehydration,
and protect the cell from the host’s immune system

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Cell-surface structure
▪ Some bacteria form metabolically inactive endospores when water or nutrients are lacking
▪ The cell copies its chromosome and surrounds it with a multilayered structure
▪ Endospores can withstand extreme conditions and remain viable for centuries

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Cell-surface structure
▪ Some prokaryotes have hairlike appendages called fimbriae that allow them to stick to
their substrate or other individuals in a colony
▪ Pili (or sex pili) are longer than fimbriae and function to pull cells together enabling the
exchange of DNA

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Motility
▪ About half of all prokaryotes exhibit taxis, the
ability to move toward or away from a stimulus
• For example, chemotaxis is the movement
toward or away from a chemical stimulus
▪ Flagella are the most common structures used by
prokaryotes for movement
▪ They may be scattered over the entire surface or
concentrated at the ends of the cell
▪ Prokaryotic flagella differ greatly from eukaryotic
flagella in structure, mechanism of propulsion,
and molecular composition
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Internal organization and DNA
▪ Prokaryotic cells lack complex compartmentalization
▪ Some prokaryotes have specialized membranes that perform metabolic functions
▪ These membranes are usually in folding of the cell membrane

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Internal organization and DNA

▪ Prokaryotes typically have one circular chromosome

which is located in the nucleoid
▪ Chromosome is associated with many fewer proteins
than eukaryotes
▪ Prokaryotes may also have smaller rings of
independently replicating DNA called plasmids
▪ There are minor differences in DNA replication,
transcription, and translation between eukaryotes and
prokaryotes
▪ These differences allow antibiotics to kill or inhibit
bacterial cell growth without harming human cells

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Reproduction
▪ Prokaryotes reproduce quickly by binary fission and can divide
every 1–3 hours under optimal conditions
▪ There are three key features of prokaryote biology:
• Small
• Reproduce by binary fission
• Short generation times

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Overview of Mitosis and Meiosis
❑ Cell division
❑ The stages of mitosis
❑ The stages of meiosis

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Cell division

▪ The ability of organisms to reproduce best distinguishes

living things from nonliving matter
▪ The continuity of life is based on the reproduction of cells, or
cell division
▪ In unicellular organisms, division of one cell reproduces the
entire organism
▪ Multicellular organisms depend on cell division for:
Development from a fertilized cell, Growth, Repair
▪ Most cell division results in daughter cells with identical
genetic information, DNA
▪ A special type of division produces nonidentical daughter
cells (gametes, or sperm and egg cells)

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Cellular Organization of the Genetic Material

▪ All the DNA in a cell constitutes the cell’s genome

▪ DNA molecules in a cell are packaged into chromosomes
▪ Each eukaryotic chromosome consists of one very long, linear
DNA molecule associated with many proteins
▪ The entire complex of DNA and proteins is referred to as
chromatin
▪ The chromatin of a chromosome varies in its degree of
condensation during the process of cell division

https://www.genome.gov/genetics-
glossary/Chromatin

Chromosomes (stained purple) are visible

within the nucleus. The cell is preparing to
divide 70
Cellular Organization of the Genetic Material
▪ Every eukaryotic species has a characteristic number of
chromosomes in each cell nucleus
▪ Somatic cells (nonreproductive cells) have two sets
of chromosomes
▪ Gametes (reproductive cells: sperm and eggs) have
half as many chromosomes as somatic cells

https://www.genome.gov/genetics- 71
glossary/Somatic-Cells
Distribution of Chromosomes During Eukaryotic Cell Division
▪ In preparation for cell division, DNA is replicated and
the chromosomes condense
▪ Each duplicated chromosome has two sister
chromatids, which separate during cell division
▪ The centromere is the narrow “waist” of the
duplicated chromosome, where the two chromatids
are most closely attached

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Distribution of Chromosomes During Eukaryotic Cell Division
▪ Eukaryotic somatic cell division consists of:
• Mitosis, the division of the nucleus
• Cytokinesis, the division of the cytoplasm
▪ Gametes are produced by a variation of cell
division called meiosis
▪ Meiosis yields nonidentical daughter cells that
have only one set of chromosomes, half as many
as the parent cell

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Cell cycle
▪ Mitosis is just one part of the cell cycle, the life of a cell from formation of a parent
cell to its own division into two daughter cells

▪ The cell cycle consists of:

• Mitotic (M) phase (mitosis and cytokinesis)
• Interphase (cell growth and copying of
chromosomes in preparation for cell division)
▪ Interphase (about 90% of the cell cycle) can be
divided into subphases:
• G1 phase (“first gap”)
• S phase (“synthesis”)
• G2 phase (“second gap”)
▪ The cell grows during all three phases, but
chromosomes are duplicated only during the S
phase

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The stages of mitosis
▪ Mitosis is conventionally broken down into five stages:
prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase
▪ Overlapping with the latter stages of mitosis, cytokinesis completes the mitotic phase
Five stages of mitosis

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 M Phase of the Cell Cycle

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Mitosis: Prophase and Prometaphase Prophase
• The chromatin fibers become more condensing into
discrete chromosomes
• The nucleolus disappear
• Each duplicated chromosome appears as two sister
chromatids
• Mitotic spindle begins to form, the microtubules that
extend from centrosomes
• The centrosomes move away from each other

Prometaphase
• The nuclear envelope fragments
• The microtubules extending from each centrosome
can invade the nuclear area
• A kinetochore has now formed at the centromere of
each chromatid
• Some of the microtubules attach to the kinetochores

• Two centrosomes have

formed
• Chromosomes have not
condensed 77
Mitosis: Metaphase, Anaphase, and Telophase Metaphase
• The centrosomes are at opposite poles of the cell
• The chromosomes’ centromeres lie at the metaphase
plate (the center)
• The kinetochores of the sister chromatids are
attached to kinetochore microtubules coming from
opposite poles
Anaphase
• The centrosomes are at opposite poles of the cell
• The cohesin proteins are cleaved, so the two sister
chromatids are separated
• By the end of anaphase, the two ends of the cell have
identical—and complete—collections of
chromosomes
Telophase
• Two daughter nuclei form in the cell
• Nuclear envelopes reform, Nucleoli reappear
• The chromosomes become less condensed
• Any remaining spindle microtubules are
depolymerized
Cohesin is a protein complex that are
• Cytokinesis completely separated cytoplasm make
responsible for sister chromatid
cohesion one cell becomes two daughter cells
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The stages of meiosis
▪ Meiosis, like mitosis, is preceded by
interphase, which includes S phase
▪ However, this is followed by not one but two
consecutive cell divisions, called meiosis I and
meiosis II
▪ These two divisions result in four daughter
cells (rather than the two)
▪ Each daughter cell has half as many
chromosomes as the parent cell

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Meiosis I
Prophase I
• Before this stage, each chromosome pairs
with its homolog, aligned gene by gene, and
crossing over occurs
• Each homologous pair has one or more X-
shaped regions called chiasmata
• Later in prophase I, microtubules from one
pole or the other attach to the kinetochores
Metaphase I
• Pairs of homologous chromosomes are
arranged at the metaphase plate
• Both chromatids of one homolog are attached
to kinetochore microtubules

Anaphase I Telophase I
• Breakdown of cohesin allows homologs to • When telophase I begins, each half of the cell has a
separate complete haploid set of duplicated chromosomes
• The homologs move toward opposite poles, • Cytokinesis divide the cytoplasm
guided by the spindle apparatus • No chromosome duplication occurs between
meiosis I and meiosis II

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Meiosis II

Telophase II
• The chromosomes begin decondensing,
and cytokinesis occurs
• The meiotic division of one parent cell
produces four daughter cells, each with a
haploid set of (unduplicated)
chromosomes
• The four daughter cells are genetically
During another round of cell division, the sister chromatids finally distinct from one another and from the
separate; four haploid daughter cells result, containing unduplicated parent cell
chromosomes

Each chromatid has now

become an individual
chromosome 81
 Meiosis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQu6Yfrr6j0
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 83
n = The number of chromosomes in a single set
A comparison of mitosis and meiosis

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