1.

Differences are:

MITOSIS:

- occurs in somatic cells only (all cells except the sex cells)

- produces 2 identical daughter cells (identical meaning having the SAME number

of chromosomes)

MEIOSIS:

- occurs in sex cells only ie: sperm or egg

- produces 4 daughter cells with HALF the number of chromosomes (haploid)

- 'crossing over' can occur, and so variation can occur

- 'random assortment' of the chromosomes can occur

So, to answer your question ... you would expect genetic differences between cells

that have divided by meiosis because ONLY in meiosis can crossing over and

random assortment occur. In mitosis all daughter cells are IDENTICAL and

therefore there are NO genetic differences between these

cells.http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080626044756AAxlBru

Meiosis vs Mitosis
Diffen Science Biology Cellular Biology Cell division and reproduction can occur in two ways - mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis is a process of cell duplication, or reproduction, during which one cell gives rise to two genetically identical daughter cells. Meiosis, on the other hand, is a division of a germ cell involving two fissions of the nucleus and giving rise to four gametes, or sex cells, each possessing half the number of chromosomes of the original cell. Mitosis is used by single celled organisms to reproduce; it is also used for the organic growth of tissues, fibers, and mibranes. Meiosis is useful for sexual reproduction of organisms; The male and female sex cells, e.g. the spermazoa and egg, fuse to create a new, singular biological organism.

Comparison chart

Meiosis
Definition: A type of cellular reproduction in which the number of chromosomes are reduced by half through the separation of homologous chromosomes in a diploid cell.

Mitosis
A process of asexual reproductionin which the cell divides in two producing a replica, with an equal number of chromosomes in haploid cell

Function:

sexual reproduction

Cellular Reproduction & general growth and repair of the body

Meiosis
Type ofReproduction: Sexual

Mitosis
Asexual

Occurs in:

Humans, animals, plants, fungi

all organisms

Genetically:

different

identical

Crossing Over:

Yes, mixing of chromosomes can occur.

No, crossing over cannot occur.

Pairing of Homologues:

Yes

No

Number of Divisions:

Number of Haploid Daughter Cells produced:

Chromosome Number:

Reduced by half

Remains the same

Steps:

The steps of meiosis are Interphase, Prophase I, Metaphase I, Anaphase I, Telophase I, Prophase II, Metaphase II, Anaphase II and Telophase II.

The steps of mitosis are Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase and Cytokinesis

Karyokenesis:

Occurs in Interphase I

Occurs in Interphase

Meiosis
Cytokenesis: Occurs in Telophase I & Telohpase II

Mitosis
Occurs in Telophase

Centromeres Split:

The centromeres do not separate during anaphase I, but during anaphase II

The centromeres split during Anaphase

Creates:

Sex cells only: Female egg cells or Male sperm cells

Makes everything other than sex cells

Discovered by:

Oscar Hertwig

Walther Flemming

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Meiosis_vs_Mitosis

Mitosis Meiosis Chromosome number of parent cells Diploid (2n) Diploid (2n) Number of DNA replications Once Once Number of divisions One Two

Number of daughter cells produced Two Four Chromosome number of daughter cells Diploid (2n) Haploid (n) Purpose Growth and repair Production of gametes or spores

http://www.biologyjunction.com/lab_3_sample_ap_mitosis__meiosis.htm

2. nucleosome / nucleosomes
A nucleosome is a section of DNA that is wrapped around a core of proteins. Inside the nucleus, DNA forms a complex with proteins called chromatin, which allows the DNA to be condensed into a smaller volume. When the chromatin is extended and viewed under a microscope, the structure resembles beads on a string. Each of these tiny beads is a called a nucleosome and has a diameter of approximately 11 nm. The nucleosome is the fundamental subunit of chromatin. Each nucleosome is composed of a little less than two turns of DNA wrapped around a set of eight proteins called histones, which are known as a histone octamer. Each histone octamer is composed of two copies each of the histone proteins H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. The chain of nucleosomes is then compacted further and forms a highly organized complex of DNA and protein called a chromosome.

http://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/nucleosome-nucleosomes-30

Nucleosome: Subunit of chromatin composed of a short length of DNA wrapped around a core of histone proteins.

The human genome contains about 3 billion nucleotide pairs organized as 23 chromosomes pairs. If uncoiled, the DNA contained by each of those chromosomes would measure between 1.7 and 8.5 cm (0.67 to 3.35 inches) long. This is too long to fit into a cell. Moreover, if chromosomes were composed of extended DNA, it is difficult to imagine how the DNA could be replicated and segregated into two daughter cells without breaking down.
http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/VL/GG/nucleosome.php

3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7572/ 4. Genetic differences arise during meiosis due to crossing over , independent assortment
and mutations , which result in variation .

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_do_you_expect_genetic_differences_between_cells_to_arise_from _mitosis_or_from_meiosis 5.

10. A centromere is a region on a chromosome that joins two sister chromatids.

Tetrad (chromosomal pairing), Bivalents or Tetrad of homologous chromosomes consisting of four synapsed chromatids that become visible during the Pachytene stage of meiotic prophase

WHAT IS A GENOME?
Life is specified by genomes. Every organism, including humans, has a genome that contains all of the biological information needed to build and maintain a living example of that organism. The biological information contained in a genome is encoded in itsdeoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and is divided into discrete units called genes. Genes code for proteins that attach to the genome at the appropriate positions and switch on a series of reactions called gene expression.

In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and thenon-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA.[1]

Chromatin is a mass of genetic material composed of DNA and proteins that condense to form chromosomes.

Figure 2: Different levels of DNA condensation. (1) Single DNA strand. (2) Chromatin strand (DNA with histones). (3) Condensed chromatin during interphase with centromere. (4) Condensed chromatin during prophase. (Two copies of the DNA molecule are now present) (5) Chromosome during metaphase.

Cytokinesis, from the greek cyto- (cell) and kinesis (division), is the process in which the cytoplasm of a single eukaryotic cell is divided to form two daughter cells. It usually initiates during the late stages of mitosis, and sometimes meiosis, splitting a mitoticcell in two, to ensure that chromosome number is maintained from one generation to the next. In animal cells, one notable exception to the normal process of cytokinesis isoogenesis (the creation of an ovum in the ovarian follicle of the ovary), where the ovum takes almost all the cytoplasm and organelles, leaving very little for the resulting polar bodies, which then die. In plant cells, a dividing structure known as the cell plate forms across the centre of the cytoplasm and a new cell wall forms between the two daughter cells.

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein that is found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which

serve to package the DNA and control its functions. The word ''chromosome'' comes from the Greek (''chroma'', color) and (''soma'', body) due to their property of being very strongly stained by particular dyes.

A chromatid is one of the two copies of DNA making up a duplicated chromosome, which are joined at their centromeres, for the process of cell division (mitosis or meiosis). They are normally identical ("homozygous") but may have slight differences in the case of mutations, in which case they are heterozygous. They are called sister chromatids so long as they are joined by the centromeres. When they separate (during anaphase of mitosis and anaphase 2 of meiosis), the strands are called daughter chromosomes (although having the same genetic mass as the individual chromatids that made up its parent, the daughter "molecules" are still referred to as chromosomes much as one child is not referred to as a single twin). [1]

Centrioles are cylindrical structures that are composed of groupings of microtubules. A centriole is a cylindrically-shaped cell structure found in most eukaryotic cells, though it is absent in higher plants and most fungi.

Homologue: A chromosome that is similar in physical attributes and genetic information to anotherchromosome with which it pairs during meiosis. A member of homologous chromosome.

The kinetochore is the protein structure on chromatids where the spindle fibers attach during cell division to pull sister chromatids apart.

Synapsis (also called syndesis) is the pairing of two homologous chromosomes that occurs during meiosis.[1] It allows matching-up of homologous pairs prior to their segregation, and possible chromosomal crossover between them.

Spindle fibers are aggregates of microtubules that move chromosomes during cell division.

Chromosomal crossover (or crossing over) is the exchange of genetic material betweenhomologous chromosomes that results in recombinant chromosomes. It is one of the final phases of genetic recombination, which occurs during prophase I of meiosis (pachytene) in a process called synapsis. Synapsis begins before the synaptonemal complex develops, and is not completed until near the end of prophase I. Crossover usually occurs when matching regions on matching chromosomes break and then reconnect to the other chromosome.

An autosome is a chromosome that is not an allosome (i.e., not a sex chromosome).[1] Autosomes appear in pairs whose members have the same form but which differ from other pairs in a diploid cell, whereas members of an allosome pair may differ from one another and thereby determine sex.

Interkinesis (pronunciation: in-ter-kuh-NEE-suhs) is the stage when the nuclear membrane reappears between Meiosis I and II.