Chapters 12-13

Meiosis:

Consists of two rounds of division: meiosis I

and meiosis II
In meiosis I, homologous csomes PAIR at the
metaphase plate and then migrate to opposite poles.
In meiosis II, csomes spread across the metaphase
plate and sister chromatids separate, migrating to
opposite poles ANALOGOUS TO
MITOSIS.

Prophase I:

Begins like mitosis nucleoli and nuclear

envelope disappear, spindle develops, and
chromatin condenses into csomes.
UNLIKE MITOSIS: homologous
chromosomes pair up = synapsis all four
chromatids together are referred to as a
tetrad/bivalents.
Crossing over can occur during synapsis:

Crossing over: sites where genetic material is

exchanged between nonsister chromatids.
Sites of crossing over are called chiasmata.

Visualizing
CROSSING OVER
between nonsister
chromosomes of a
homologous pair.

Metaphase I:

Homologous PAIRS of chromosomes line up

along the metaphase plate.
Microtubules extend from each centriole,
attaching to the kinetochores of each homologous
chromosome.

Anaphase I:

Homologous PAIRS of chromosomes are

pulled apart and move to opposite poles of the
cell.

Telophase I and
Cytokinesis:
Nuclear envelope develops around chromosomes at

their respective poles.

Cleavage furrow begins to form, and cytokinesis
occurs, forming two new daughter cells.

Prophase II:

NO DNA REPLICATION occurs prior to

prophase II.
Nuclear envelope disappears and spindle develops.
There are NO CHIASMATA & NO

CROSSING
OVER as in
prophase I.

Metaphase II:

Chromosomes line up on the metaphase plate (NOT

IN PAIRS/TETRADS as in metaphase I).

Anaphase II:

Each chromosome is pulled apart into two chromatids

by the kinetochore microtubules.
The chromatids migrate to their opposite poles.

Telophase II and
Cytokinesis:
The nuclear envelope reappears and cytokinesis

occurs cleavage furrow.

End result: 4 haploid cells.

10

Mitosis vs. Meiosis:

Mitosis

Ends with 2 daughter

cells:

Meiosis

Clones of parent.
Diploid (2n = 46).
Occurs in somatic cells.

Occurs during growth

and development and for
repair and replacement
of existing cells.

Ends with 4 daughter

cells:

Genetically unique.
Haploid (n = 23).
Produces gametes/sex
cells.

Occurs to increase
diversity for sexual
reproduction fusion
of gametes results in
fertilization (n + n = 2n).

Human
Life
Cycle:
Illustrates the
production of
gametes by
meiosis,
fertilization,
and subsequent
growth by
mitosis.

Plant Life Cycle:

Called ALTERNATION OF GENERATIONS.
Meiosis produces spores which are haploid.
Spores divide by mitosis to become multicellular haploid
structures called gametophytes.
Gametes are produced by the gametophytes then fuse to
produce a diploid cell that grows via mitosis to become
the sporophyte.
Specialized cells in the sporophyte divide by meiosis to produce
haploid spores.

ALTERNATION OF GENERATIONS

Mitosis produces daughter cells identical to the parent cell.

However, meiosis results in the reassortment of genetic
material referred to as genetic recombination results from
three important events:

Crossing Over
Independent Assortment
Random Fertilization

Crossing Over:

Occurs during prophase I of meiosis.

Nonsister chromatids of homologous chromosomes
exchange pieces of
genetic material.
Results in
chromosomes with
genetic combinations
different from the parent
DNA.

Independent Assortment:

Happens during metaphase I.

The orientation of each homologous pair of
chromosomes at the metaphase plate
determines the combination of chromosomes
in a given gamete random for each tetrad.

Independent Assortment:

Random Fertilization:
Which sperm fertilizes which egg is a random event.
Can be affected by the genetic composition of a
gamete (ex: some sperm may be faster swimmers).

Why Cells Divide:

There are two factors limiting the size of a cell

and its motivation to divide:

The surface area of the cell relative to its

volume.
Limited capability of the nucleus.

Surface area-to-volume ratio:

If the ratio is large, then the surface area > volume and
the cell can efficiently interact with its environment.
If the ratio is small, then the volume > surface area and
the cell cannot exchange materials with the
environment efficiently this is alleviated by cell

division.

 Limited capability of the nucleus:

As the volume of the cell increases, the genome cannot
produce a sufficient amount of material to regulate
cellular activities genome-to-volume ratio is low
(remember the size of a cells genome is finite).
The cell divides to reduce volume and increase the ratio.
In addition to surface and genome to volume ratios, many
cells stop dividing when surrounding cell density reaches a
maximum = density-dependent inhibition.
Some cells, like nerve cells, wont divide once they have
matured.
When the cell cycle is interrupted and stops dividing, the
cell remains in an extended G1 phase = G0 phase. It wont
begin the S or G2 phases until some internal or external cue
initiates the cell cycle to resume.