Chevon Christie AP Biology Chap 12

I. Explain how cell division functions in reproduction, growth, and repair.

a. The replication of cells plays a role in reproduction, whether asexual

or sexual, by transferring genetic materials from parent cells to their offspring. Furthermore, cell division holds a vital role in growth and repair, since cells divide to grow in quantity, and this quantum of cells can then aggregate to repair broken skin in the body, or fix other damages to tissue. II. Describe the structural organization of the genome. a. The genome of eukaryotic cells consists of package DNA molecule called chromosomes. Inside these chromosomes is a protein and DNA component named chromatin. III. Describe the major events of cell division that enable the genome of one cell to be passed on to two daughter cells.
a. The events leading up to the eventual mitotic division of cells

occurs in what is known as the interphase. This phase of the cells life prepares it for its division in a series of steps known as the G phase, S (DNA Synthesis), and G phase. During the G step, the primarily just grows in size. On the other hand, during the S phase, the cell duplicates its genetic material as well as continues to grow. And the last phase, the G phase, the cell continues to grow and replicate organelles. And finally, after all the chromosomes and the necessary organelles have been replicated, the cell divides in the M phase.
IV. Describe how the chromosome number changes throughout the human

life cycle.
a. The number of chromosomes in somatic cells, 46, never changes

during a humans life. However, in gametes, produced in the gonads of the body, there are only 23 chromosomes for each cell. The difference is number is corrected when a sperm joins to an egg during fertilization. V. List the phases of the cell cycle and describe the sequence of events that occurs during each phase. a. G Phase- cell grows and replicates organelles b. S Phase- cell continues to grows and replicated its chromatin c. G Phase- cell grows even more and prepares itself to divide during the Mitotic Phase.
VI. List the phases of mitosis and describe the events characteristic of each

phase. a. Prophase- chromatin condenses to form chromosomes, and centrosomes move away from each other to surround the nucleus.

Chevon Christie AP Biology Chap 12

b. Prometaphase- Nuclear envelope is shatters and kinetochore microtubules connect to the kinetochore of the chromosomes, while non-kinetochore microtubules overlap to help push the two centrosomes apart.
c. Metaphase- The chromosomes line up along an imaginary

metaphase plate and prepare to separate.

d. Anaphase- the chromosomes are separated in to their sister

chromatids; each of which moves towards its attach centrosome. e. Telophase- the centrosomes nonkinetochore asters push further apart and a nuclear envelope starts to form around the lesscondensed chromosomes. f. Cytokenesis- the cell begins to pinch into two, and, eventually, two daughter cells are formed.

VII.

Draw or describe the spindle apparatus, including centrosomes, kinetochore microtubules, nonkinetochore microtubules, asters, and centrioles (in animal cells).

VIII.

Describe what characteristic changes occur in the spindle apparatus during each phase of mitosis. a. During the prophase, the spindle apparatus is just forming as the centrosomes move apart to opposite ends of the nucleus. In the prometaphase, the microtubules of the centrosome jut outwards, and some shatter the nuclear envelope, while others overlap. At the metaphase, the spindle is fully lined up, with chromosomes on the metaphase plate. And in the anaphase, the spindle splits each chromosome into its two sister chromatids, and pushes apart the opposite ends.

IX. Explain the current models for poleward chromosomal movement and elongation of the cell's polar axis.
a. The current model states that chromosomes move towards their

attached centrosomes with motor proteins that walk along the kinetochore microtubule as it disintegrates at the attached end. On the other hand, the elongation of the cells polar axis build on the

Chevon Christie AP Biology Chap 12

nonkinetochore microtubules to make them longer, in order to stretch the cell until cytokinesis occurs. X. Compare cytokinesis in animals and plants.
a. Cytokinesis in animal cells occurs via cleavage, which is the

pinching in of the cell membrane along the metaphase plate by actin microfilaments. On the other hand, since plant cells have walls, they cannot pinch; and so, plant cells divide by sending vesicles with cell wall material to the middle of the cell. Once the vesicles line up, they fuse to form a cell plate, which then grows and merges with the existing cytoplasm. Finally, a cell wall is formed from the materials that were in the vesicles, and the two daughter cells are separated.
XI. Describe the process of binary fission in bacteria and how this process

may have evolved in eukaryotic mitosis. a. Binary fission occurs in a process similar to mitotic cell division. In prokaryotic cells, binary fission initiates by first replicating the genome of the cell, while it is growing in size. Once all the genetic information is replicated the copies are separated to either side of the cell, and the cell membrane grows inwards and splits the cell into two. It is said that this may have evolved into eukaryotic mitosis since modern unicellular algae show what seem to be intermediate steps between binary fission and mitosis; ex- in dinoflagellates, the nuclear envelope is not broken into pieces during cell division. XII. Describe the roles of checkpoints, cyclin, Cdk, and MPF in the cell cycle control system.
a. Checkpoints in the mitotic cell division process ensures that all prior

steps have been carried out successfully, and that the final product of two daughter cells are identical to initial parent cell. Proteins such as Cyclin, Cdk, and MPF play key roles in assigning what a cells future life cycle will be; if there is an abundance of cyclin in the cell, it will bind to the ever-present Cyclin-dependent kinase and for MPF, or M-phase promoting factor. The MPF gives the cell the go ahead to enter the G phase, after which it will continue on to Mitosis. If MPF is not present, then the cell enters the G Phase, where it does not replicate.

XIII.

Describe the internal and external factors that influence the cell cycle control system. a. Internal factors that influence the cell cycle can come in the form of checkpoints. One such stop is the M-phase checkpoint; here, the checkpoint makes sure that all chromosomes are lined along the metaphase plate before allowing the APC (anaphase-promoting complex) to become active in the cell and stimulate the splitting of the chromosomes.

Chevon Christie AP Biology Chap 12

b. External factors that stimulate cell growth may be chemical or physical. One such factor comes in the form of a platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). The growth factor stimulates cells to divide in order to have adjacent neighbors, and to stop dividing once they have aggregated together.
XIV.

Explain how the abnormal cell division of cancerous cells differs from normal cell division.
a. The abnormal cell division of cancerous cells varies from that of normal cells, since this division has no limiting factor. Normal cell division has density-dependent inhibition and anchorage dependence; this prevents normal cells from growing without bounds or reason. Conversely, cancerous cells have no such impetuses to prevent them from continual growth.