Cell Division

Today you will review mitosis and meiosis. Although you are probably familiar with the
phases of mitosis and meiosis, we will be asking some additional questions.
Questions wed like you to consider as you go through this lab are - what are the differences
between mitosis and meiosis and sister chromatids and homologous chromosomes. Why are
these differences important? Why must cells have two different methods of dividing up the
chromosomes? Can any cell go through mitosis and meiosis? As you go through this
exercise, be sure you can master the following objectives.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify the stage of mitosis given a microscope image or photograph of an onion or
whitefish blastula cell undergoing mitosis
2. Sketch or use models of chromosomes to show cells of given chromosome number and
ploidy. Sketch or use models to show these cells at different stages of mitosis and
meiosis.
3. Name the stage of mitosis or meiosis and identify the cell chromosome number and
ploidy, given a sketch of the chromosomes.
4. Demonstrate the movement of chromosomes and chromatids in both mitosis and meiosis.
5. Determine the relative length of the stages of mitosis in onion root tips.
6. Explain the relationship between homologous chromosomes and sister chromatids. In
particular, you should be able to describe:
a. How the genetic information on one chromatid compares with that on the sister and
how the information on one chromosome compares with that on the homologue.
b. When, in the life cycle of the cell or the organism, the sister chromatids separate,
when the homologous chromosomes separate.

ABOUT CELL DIVISION

Chromosomes are thread-like structures that assume a compacted form and become visible
during cell division. A single chromosome may consist of either one or two chromatids,
depending on the stage of the cell cycle. If there are two chromatids, they are held together
at the centromere and called sister chromatids.
Sexually reproducing organisms reproduce via the fusion of two gametes eggs and sperm that each contain one set of chromosomes. The resulting fertilized egg has two sets of
chromosomes one set from each parent. The number of sets of chromosomes in a cell are
called its ploidy or n-number. A fertilized egg is 2n, a gamete (e.g. sperm) is 1n. Some cells
spontaneously replicate entire sets of chromosomes or form from the fusion of more than two
cells. These cells can be 3n, 4n, or even 7n. Chromosomes that are similar (that is, carrying
information for the same trait) but that are from different sets are called homologous
chromosomes.
In the process of mitosis, two daughter cells are produced during cell division and will have
identical sets of chromosomes. During mitotic prophase the chromosomes, which have
replicated during interphase, shorten and become thicker. At metaphase they line up on the
spindle equator (=metaphase plate); at anaphase the centromere regions divide and pull
apart, and one chromatid from each metaphase chromosome subsequently goes to each
pole.
In the process of meiosis, replicated chromosomes shorten and become thicker and
homologous chromosomes pair up during prophase I. At metaphase I the homologous
chromosomes line up on the metaphase plate. During anaphase I the homologous pairs pull
apart (no centromere splits) and sets of sister chromatids go to each pole.
After telophase I and cytokinesis (division of the cell itself), the chromosomes in each of the
two subsequent cells line up on the metaphase plate again (metaphase II). Each of the
resulting cells now has replicated chromosomes (sister chromosomes), but the chromosomes
are not homologous to each other. During anaphase II the centromeres divide and pull apart
and one chromatid from each set of sister chromosomes migrates to each pole. Cytokinesis
again takes place in telophase II, resulting in the formation of four daughter cells from the
original one. Each daughter cell (gamete) has half the number of chromosomes as the
original cell. This ensures that the subsequent fusion of two gametes (egg and sperm) will
produced a fertilized egg with the correct number of chromosomes for that organism. In
meiosis, daughter cells do not have identical sets of chromosomes.
Note: a cell going through meiosis will potentially produce four daughter cells. However, in
species with separate sexes, meiosis in females results in only one viable egg cell. The
remaining three cells, called polar bodies, degenerate.

PROCEDURES: You will work in pairs

1.

Animal cell mitosis

Obtain a microscope. Obtain a whitefish blastula slide. The blastula is a very early
embryonic stage that is composed of a solid ball of rapidly dividing cells. Your slide contains
several cross-sections of that ball of cells.
Use the high dry objective on your microscope to look at cells in each of the phases of
mitosis. Consult your instructor if you wish to use the oil immersion objective. Just as when
you randomly slice a hard-boiled egg, you may or may not slice the yolk; some of the blastula
cell cross-sections do not show any nuclei or chromosomes. Each slide, however, should
have plenty of cells with good views of chromosomes.
! Can you see the spindle fibers in any of the dividing cells?

Which stages?

How could you distinguish between cells in interphase and cells in prophase?

How can you distinguish between cells in telophase and cells that have completed
cytokinesis?

Use the spaces below to sketch each cell stage.

Interphase

Prophase

Anaphase

Metaphase

Telophase

2.

Plant cell mitosis

Obtain a slide of an onion root tip. In plants, cells at shoot tips and root tips are constantly
dividing. Locate this area of rapid cell division just above the root cap.
Use the high dry objective to find cells in the process of actively dividing. As with the
whitefish blastula, many cells will be in interphase. The nucleus of root tip cell in interphase
is very large, stained red or purple and usually contains one or two nucleoli. Dont confuse
this with the entire cell! The root tip cell is a greenish color and is rectangular.
Locate cells in each of the stages in mitosis.
! How can you distinguish between interphase and prophase in plant cells?

How can you distinguish between telophase and two adjacent cells that have just gone
through cytokinesis?

Use the spaces below to sketch each cell stage.

Interphase

Prophase

Anaphase

Metaphase

Telophase

3.

Determining duration of stages of mitosis

Cells in onion root tips take approximately 90 minutes to divide. Although we cannot time
each stage of mitosis in this lab, we can approximate the duration of each stage by
determining what percentage of each stage is present in the onion root tip slides. Each slide
is a snapshot of cell activity. Stages that take up a greater proportion of the cell cycle will
show up more often in the slide snapshots.

Given what you know about the stages of mitosis, which of the stages of mitosis do
you think takes the longest to complete? Which takes the least time to complete?
(Remember, the stages of mitosis do not include interphase.) Write your hypotheses
below.

Procedure
1. Start at one end of your onion root tip slide, and work your way across the slide,
counting the numbers of cells in prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase (not
interphase). Keep track and record the numbers of actively dividing cells until youve
counted a total of 50 cells. The easiest way to do this is for one lab partner to call out
the stages as he or she sees them and have the other lab partner record them as
hatch marks in each category below. You will probably have to look at all three slices
of onion root tips on your slide and perhaps even go to another slide to get a total of
50 actively dividing cells.
2. Calculate the percentage of each stage by multiplying each number by 2. To
determine the average number of minutes each stage takes multiply your
percentage by 90 minutes.
3. Record your results on the board and compare to your hypothesis how did you do?
Prophase

Metaphase

Anaphase

Telophase