Cellular Sexual Reproduction

Textbook: Chapters 11.4-11.6, 25, 36, 37 Molecular Biology Textbook: Chapter 14

Advantages of Sexual Reproduction

Sexual reproduction allows the shuffling of genes

Sexual reproduction may combine different

parental alleles to produce a genetically unique offspring

Sexual reproduction allows the combining

genetically determined traits, leading to rapid evolution The rate of mutations is very low, although they produce new alleles

Chromosomes Exist in Homologues

Somatic cells have homologous pairs of

chromosomes, with each chromosome of a pair coming from each parent Homologous chromosomes code for the same genes, but have different alleles of each gene, allowing for different expressions of the same gene Homologous pairs are matched in:
Length Centromere position Gene loci: different alleles of the same gene are

found at the same gene loci on the maternal and paternal chromosomes

Cells of Reproduction
Diploid cells have homologous pairs

Haploid cells do not have homologous pairs, and

are formed through meiosis Gametes are haploid cells produced by meiosis in sex organs
Sperm: male Egg: female

Fertilization is the union of sperm and egg

Zygotes are formed by fertilization and are

diploid, because they are the fusion of two haploid gametes

Meiosis
Meiosis is the process of cell division that converts

one diploid cell into four haploid cells The basic cellular mechanisms for meiosis are the same as mitosis
The events of Interphase are the same as in mitosis G1: growth and development S: DNA duplication G2: preparation for cell division

Meiosis is has two cell divisions, unlike mitosis

In Meiosis I, homologous chromosomes separate Forms two haploid cells from diploid cells
In Meiosis II, sister chromatids separate Chromosome number remains the same and two haploid cells result in four haploid cells

Meiosis
Meiosis is divided into two stages:
Meiosis I: separation of homologous chromosomes Meiosis II: separation of sister chromatids

Each stage of meiosis is further divided into

prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, and cytokinesis (I or II)

Interphase: Cell Growth and DNA Duplication

Meiosis I: Separation of Homologues

2n

Diploid

2n x 2
nx 2 nx 2

Diploid

Meiosis II: Separation of Sister Chromatids

Haploi d

Haploi d

Meiosis I: Prophase I
Prophase I is the first stage of Meiosis I and is the

longest The main purpose of Prophase I is to pair up homologues and have them cross over Prophase I is further divided into 5 stages:

Leptotene Zygotene Pachytene Diplotene Diakinesis

These subdivisions are described as the

occurrences that happen that are visible under an electron microscope

Prophase I: Leptotene and Zygotene

In leptotene, the first stage of Prophase I, the

condensation of chromosomes is clearly visible under the electron light microscope, as paired sister chromatids In zygotene, the second stage of Prophase I, homologous pairs are paired one on top of the other, in a process called synapsis
The synaptonemal complex (SC) are lateral

protein filaments, mostly cohesin, that hold homologous pairs together; they are not completely formed until pachytne The resulting structure after synapsis is called tetrad or bivalent

Prophase I: Pachytene
In pachytene, the third stage of Prophase I, the SC is

completely formed and crossing over occurs

Crossing over, also called genetic recombination, is the

process where the certain segments of the same gene loci are exchanged between the non-sister chromatids of the maternal and paternal chromosomes The site of crossing over forms a covalent junction where the crossing over sites the chromosome intertwine and are held together using cohesin, called the chiasmata Crossing over creates new allelic combinations, and the resulting gametes are potentially valuable in the evolution of an organism Crossing over ensures that no pure maternal or paternal chromosomes exist within humans

Prophase I: Diplotene and Diakinesis

In diplotene, the fourth stage, the SC dissolves,

so the only other sites that hold the two homologues together are the cohesin proteins of the chiasmatas In diakinesis, the fifth stage, cell prepares for Metaphase I
Mitotic spindles form Nucleolus breaks down Nuclear envelope breaks down

Meiosis I: Metaphase I
Metaphase I is the second stage of meiosis Mitotic spindles attach to the kinetochores of the tetrads
The homologous chromosomes of the tetrads attach to the

spindles of opposite poles The sister chromatids of the same chromosome attach to the spindles of the same poles
Mitotic spindles align the tetrads along the metaphase

plate The orientation of the paternal and maternal homologues are random, meaning that not all the maternal or paternal chromosomes face the same pole, but rather a mix of paternal and maternal chromosomes face either poles This means that the nucleus of the daughter cell after Meiosis I is a mixture of maternal and paternal chromosomes that was randomly separated from each homologue This process is called independent assortment, and produces genetic variability. The combinations of
n

Meiosis I: Anaphase I
Anaphase I is the third stage of meiosis

The purpose of Anaphase I is to separate the

homologous pairs so that the daughter cells can receive half of each pair In order for the mitotic spindles to easily pull the homologues away from each other, the cohesin of the chiasmata are proteolyzed After the dissolution of the cohesin, the mitotic spindles split the homologues apart from each other and each chromosome is pulled to an opposite pole The sister chromatids of each chromosome

Meiosis I: Telophase I and Cytokinesis

During Telophase I, the fourth stage of mitosis:
Chromosomes decondense Nuclear envelope reforms Nucleolus reforms

However, the events of Telophase I are usually less

dramatic than in the Telophase of mitosis, since the daughter cells need to divide again anyways
This means that the chromosomes do not fully

decondense and the nuclear envelope and nucleolus may or may not reform
Cytokinesis in meiosis uses the same mechanism as

in mitosis, using cleavage furrows to pull the membrane in The two resulting daughter cells are haploid because they do not contain homologous pairs, but still have double the DNA because each chromosome still has a sister chromatid

Meiosis II
The main purpose of Meiosis II is to separate of sister

chromatids The mechanism for Meiosis II is very similar to that of mitosis Prophase I: chromosomes recondense, nuclear envelope and nucleolus break down if they even reformed during Telophase I Metaphase II: the kinetochores of sister chromatids attach to mitotic spindles of opposite poles Anaphase II: the mitotic spindles split sister chromatids apart and pull them to opposite poles Telophase II: the chromosomes decondense, nuclear envelope and nucleolus forms, mitotic spindles disassemble Cytokinesis: the cell membrane is pulled in using a

End Result of Meiosis

From one parent cell before Meiosis I to the end

of Meiosis II, four daughter cells are formed Each daughter cell contains one full set of DNA, but does not have homologous chromosomes, and is therefore a haploid To produce gametes, haploid cells have to go through differentiation

Mitosis vs. Meiosis

Mitosis Number of chromosomal duplications Number of cell divisions Number of daughter cells produced How chromosomes line up during metaphase plate Genetic relationship of daughter cells to parent cell 1 Meiosis 1

1 2

2 4

Homologues individually Identical

Homologues together Non-identical

Functions performed in the human body

Growth, repair

Spermatogenesis and oogenesis

Gamete Fusion and Genetic Variability

Two gametes of opposite sexes fuse to create a

diploid zygote The fusion of gametes add further genetic variability to the offspring Each gamete by independent assortment alone can have 2n possible combinations of its parents chromosomes Therefore, the fusion of two gametes will create 2n x 2n combinations of chromosomes
The gametes from two humans could produce

about 64 trillion different combinations

This process is beneficial for the existence and

well-being as a species, as it makes it more diverse