AP Biology Review Sheet

Cell Communication and Cell Cycle

1. Cell Communication – cells receive or send inhibitory or stimulatory signals from other
cells, organisms, or the environment; single-celled organisms – response to
environment; multicellular organisms – signal transduction pathways coordinate
activities within individual cells.
a. Quorum Sensing – signaling large population numbers to members of a species.
b. Taxis – movement of an organism in response to a stimulus; may be positive or
negative; innate behavioral responses or instincts.
i. Chemotaxis – movement in response to chemicals.
c. Cells communicate by cell-to-cell contact (may allow material to be transported).
i. Cells communicate over short distances by using local regulators that
target cells in the vicinity of the emitting cell.
ii. Signal is released by one cell type can travel long distances to target cells
of another cell type (hormones).
d. Receptor Protein – recognizes signal molecules causing the shape to change and
initiating signal transduction.
e. Signal transduction – process where a signal is converted to a cellular response
inside a cell as signals are relayed from receptors to cell targets; amplifying the
incoming signals resulting in cellular responses (involves 3 steps).
i. Signaling molecule binding to a specific receptor.
ii. Activating a signal transduction pathway.
iii. Production of a cellular response.
f. Signal Transduction Pathways – protein modifications or phosphorylation
cascades where a series of protein kinases add a phosphate group to the next
protein in the cascade sequence.
g. Membrane Receptors (3 classes)
i. Ligand-Gated Ion Channels – open ion channels after binding with a
specific ligand in the plasma membrane.
ii. Catalytic (enzyme-linked) Receptors – have enzymatic active sites on the
cytoplasmic side of the membrane.
iii. G-Protein-Linked Receptors – does not act as an enzyme; binds with
different G-proteins on the intracellular side.
h. Second messengers – essential to the function of the cascade; small molecules
that can move quickly inside the cell.
2. Homeostasis – “steady state” that an organism must maintain; Set of conditions under
which living things can successfully survive.
3. Feedback Pathways – Pathways that control responses (positive or negative).
a. Negative Feedback Pathway – (feedback inhibition) works by using an end
product to turn itself off causing the pathway to shut off (conserves energy).
b. Positive Feedback Pathway – end product stimulates pathway (more energy).
4. Cell Cycle – (Cell Division and Replication) as cell volume increases, the surface area
decreases; material resource demand increases limiting cell size; 2 Phases – interphase
and cell division.
 a. Smaller cells have a more favorable surface area-to-volume ratio for exchange of
materials with the environment. Higher SA:V ratio is favorable.
b. Interphase – time from one cell division to another; includes growth (G1),
synthesis of DNA (S), and preparation for mitosis (G2).
i. Cytokinesis – division of cytoplasm and reformation of cell membrane;
Animal Cell – pinches in (cleavage) using microfilaments; Plant Cell – form
cell plate reforms cell wall.
ii. Cell cycle is directed by internal controls or checkpoints. Internal
(enzymes and promoting factors) and external signals (growth factors)
provide stop and go signs at the checkpoints.
1. Cancer results from disruptions in cell cycle control (too much
division, defective tumor suppressor genes, overactive genes);
result of DNA damage to protooncogenes (regulatory genes)
making products (cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases).
iii. Cells spend different amounts of time in interphase or division.
1. Nondividing cells may exit the cell cycle or hold at a particular
stage in the cell cycle.
c. Mitosis achieves the production of daughter cells that are identical copies of the
parent cell and maintains the proper number of chromosomes between
generations.
d. Mitosis and Meiosis – growth and repair in animals; plants use mitosis to make
gametes and for growth or repair.
i. Duplicated chromosomes line up in center with spindle fibers attached to
help pull them apart; pulled apart by spindle fibers.
ii. Mitosis begins with 1 cell, makes 2 identical cells (clones); maintains
chromosome number; 1n or 2n.
iii. Meiosis (occurs after interphase) takes diploid cells and reduces the
chromosome number to haploid; 2n to 1n.
iv. During meiosis, homologous chromosomes are paired (one from each
parent) and line up in the center of the cell randomly; homologues
chromosomes are pulled apart and separated in meiosis I; second division
occurs in which the duplicated chromosomes are pulled apart.
1. Variation occurs in gametes during “crossing over,” and
fertilization because of all possible combinations of homologous
chromosomes aligning during metaphase I.
Mitosis Pneumonic – IPMAT
Interphase I is for Interlude
Prophase P is for Prepare
Metaphase M is for Middle
Anaphase A is for Apart
Telophase T is for Two