DATE PERFORMED: January 21, 2016 and January 28, 2016

DATE SUBMITTED: February 3, 2016

EXERCISE NO. 1: Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis

I. INTRODUCTION
A. Background

Growth and reproduction are both important components for the continued
survival of any given species, therefore, at least one form of growth and
reproduction must be present in any given organism. In prokaryotes, this is
primarily achieved through binary fission while in eukaryotes, this two-fold task is
done through the process of cell division (Reece et al. 2013).

Eukaryotic cell division comes in two types: mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis is
the process through which a single cell divides to form two genetically identical
daughter cells while meiosis is the process through which a single diploid parent
cell divides to produce four genetically different haploid daughter cells (Reece et
al. 2013). Mitosis is primarily observed in somatic cells while meiosis is observed
in sex cells or gametes. Each type of cell division consists of a distinct set of
phases; mitosis consists of Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, and Telophase,
while meiosis consists of Prophase I, Metaphase I, Anaphase I, Telophase I,
Prophase II, Metaphase II, Anaphase II, and Telophase II (Klug et al. 2012).

Both types of cell division may be observed in both plant and animal cells,
however, several differences may be observed between the two types of cells.
For example, during telophase in animal cells, a cleavage furrow forms between
the newly formed nuclei while in plant cells, this structure is replaced with a
phragmoplast which will eventually develop into a new cell wall (Reece et al.
2013). Another difference is that centrioles are absent in plant cells while in
animal cells, these are what give rise to the spindle fibers.

B. Objectives
After the experiment, the students should be able to:
1. Find and identify the different stages of cell division through
microscopy.
2. Differentiate between cell division in plant and animal cells.
3. Differentiate between mitosis and meiosis.
 C. Significance

Cell division in eukaryotes holds three main important functions. The first
is for the growth and development of the organism--cell division provides the
additional cells needed to form more complex tissues and organs during the
development of the organism. The second function is for the repair of currently
existing body structures that either suffer injury or regularly require replacement
of cells and tissues. The third function is for reproduction which may be done
either asexually through mitosis, producing offspring genetically identical to the
parent, or sexually, producing offspring genetically different from the parent
through the help of meiosis. Through careful observation of the different stages
and types of cell division, the students would be able to grasp a better
understanding of the processes themselves as well as their importance to the
different forms of life.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY
A. Mitosis
B. Meiosis
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Guide Questions

1. Tabulate the differences between Mitosis and Meiosis.

Table 1. Differences between mitosis and meiosis.

Meiosis Mitosis

Occurs in Animals, Plants, Fungi All Eukaryotic Organisms

Genetically Different Identical

Crossing Over Yes No

Homologous Yes No
Pairing

Function Genetic Diversity Cellular reproduction, and

growth and repair of the
body

Number of 2 1
Divisions

Daughter Cells 4 Haploid cells 2 Diploid cells

produced

Chromosome Halved Remains the same

Number

Karyokinesis Occurs in Interphase I Occurs in Interphase

Cytokinesis Occurs in both Telophase I and Occurs in Telophase

II

Centromeres Split Only in Anaphase II Occurs in Anaphase

Creates Sex cells only Somatic cells

(Information taken from Diffen n.d.)
2. Where can you expect genetic differences between cells to arise, in
mitosis or meiosis?

Because of two major factors: crossing over & independent assortment,

genetic differences/variation is expected to arise in meiosis, rather than in
mitosis. The four-daughter haploid cell end product of meiosis are always
genetically different from their parent germ cell mostly because of these two
factors. During crossing over, or genetic reassortment, in Prophase I,
homologous points of homologous pairs, which contain similar genes, switch
sides. When they switch, each chromosomes is getting different version of the
same gene, or alleles (Klug et al. 2012). On the other hand, during
independent assortment, in Metaphase I, alleles of one gene segregate
independently from alleles of another gene (i.e. Which chromosome faces
which direction in a tetrad before their separation is independent of what's
happening in the other tetrads). Thus, the inheritance pattern of a certain trait
will not affect the inheritance pattern of another. Therefore, there are myriad
combinations of genes that can occur in organisms. The genetic differences
between cells generated by these factors result to genetic variation among
organisms.

3. Define/describe the following terms:

a. chromosome - tightly-packed DNA molecules bound by histone
proteins
b. centromere - the region of attachment of sister chromatids after
replication and site for spindle fibers to attach to during cell division;
Location on the chromosome determines its shape after undergoing
anaphase.
c. chromatid - one half of a mitotic chromosome/ one of the two
identical strands in which a chromosome splits during mitosis
d. cytokinesis - division of the cytoplasm; occurs after mitosis
e. cell plate - a plate that develops at the midpoint between the two
groups of chromosomes in a dividing plant cell
f. somatic cells - any plant or animal cell that is not a germ cell;
formed during mitosis
g. bipolar spindle - microtubules that grow or shrink as tubulin
subunits are added to or lost from their ends; extending from both
spindle poles
h. tetrad - formed during synapsis in Prophase I of Meiosis when two
homologous chromosomes meet at a chiasma
i. bivalent - the appearance/position of chromosomes during the
zygotene subphase of Meiotic Prophase I.
 j. interkinesis - the period in between Telophase I and Prophase II
wherein there is a period of rest and nuclear envelopes reappear
temporarily to enclose the two haploid sets of chromosomes
produced in Meiosis I; sometimes called Interphase II
k. cleavage furrow - a furrow that develops at the midpoint between
the two groups of chromosomes in a dividing animal cell
l. gametes - also called sex cells; cells that are created out of germ
cells (i.e. sperm or egg) which have a haploid set of chromosomes
and have the ability to unite with another of the opposite sex in
sexual reproduction to form a zygote
m. synapsis - a process during Prophase I in which homologous pairs
come together and exchange genes or sections of the chromosome
n. crossing over - also called genetic reassortment; the process in
which homologous points of homologous pairs switch sides,
acquiring different versions of the same gene, or alleles
o. kinetochore - part of the centromere in which the mitotic spindles
attach to
p. karyokinesis - the process in which there is a division of the
nucleus; also called mitosis
q. centriole - a small cylindrical organelle near the nucleus in animal
cells, occurring in pairs and involved in the development of spindle
fibers in cell division.
r. sex cells - also called gametes; cells that are created out of germ
cells (i.e. sperm or egg) which have a haploid set of chromosomes
and have the ability to unite with another of the opposite sex in
sexual reproduction to form a zygote
IV. CONCLUSION
The aim of this experiment is to be able to view and identify the different
stages and structures of both Mitosis and Meiosis. All stages of mitosis and
meiosis were observed. Passable sketches were made depicting these stages.
However, observation of these stages was extremely limited, as the
magnifications available were too weak to observe much more than faint outlines
of chromosomes and spindle fibers. Even with the oil immersion objective lens, a
lot of structures were unclear. The most obvious way to remedy this is to use a
microscope with better magnification. Other types of microscope could be used
to highlight different structures. An example would be the use of dark-field
microscopes, which would highlight structures such as cell walls.
 V. LIST OF REFERENCES

Diffen LLC, n.d. Mitosis and Meiosis [Internet]. [Cited January 30, 2016.]
Available from http://www.diffen.com/difference/Meiosis_vs_Mitosis

Klug WS, Cummings MR, Spencer CA, Palladino MA. 2012. Concepts of
Genetics, 10th Edition. Glenview (IL): Pearson Benjamin Cummings.

Reece JB, Urry LA, Cain ML, Wasserman SA, Minorsky PV. 2013. Campbell
Biology, 10th Edition. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Pearson Benjamin
Cummings.

Comparing the sketches for both figures 1.1 and 1.2, the different stages of
mitosis in both plant and animal cells were observed to be generally similar except for
during telophase. In the whitefish blastula specimen, some cells undergoing telophase
were observed to have a cleavage furrow which was most noticeably visible on the
portions of the cell membrane along the equatorial plate. For the cells of the onion root
tip undergoing telophase on the other hand, a cell plate was sometimes observed to be
forming between the separated chromosomes. However unlike the cleavage furrow, the
cell plate was observed to originate from the center of the equatorial plate whilst slowly
extending outwards towards the cell membrane as compared to the cleavage furrow
which was observed to originate at the cell membrane and slowly extended towards the
center of the equatorial plate. Apart from these differences, the differences in the
sketches for mitosis in plant and animal cells could be attributed to the inherent
differences in the shape and structure of plant cells from animal cells.

Comparing figures 1.3 and 1.4 also gives a similar set of observations as with
figures 1.1 and 1.2. Other notable observations were that the daughter cells formed
after meiosis II were all significantly smaller in size as compared to the daughter cells
produced at the end of mitosis or at the end of meiosis I. It was also observed that the
shape of the plant cells undergoing meiosis resembled the shape of animal cells since
the anther cells were observed to be rounded and irregular as compared to the well-
defined rectangular cell shapes observed from the onion root tip.