Activity Plant Mitosis

No. 3 Process of Diffusion, Osmosis, and Plasmolysis

Title of the Activity

Instructions:

Stage of Mitosis Drawing Description of

chromosome

Prophase Chromatin begins to

condense and coil into
visible chromosomes.
Chromosomes become
shorter and thicker and
are individually visible
under the light
microscope.
 Metaphase Chromosomes are lines
up at the metaphase
plate.
Each sister chromatid is
attached to a spindle fiber
originating from opposite
poles.

Anaphase Sister chromatids begin to

separate and are pulled
opposite poles by the
microtubules.

Telophase Chromosomes arrive at

the poles and return to
their interphase condition.
Chromosomes begin to
elongate by uncoiling and
then become visible
chromatin strands.

2. Compare and contrast mitosis and meiosis.

Mitosis and meiosis are the two ways by which cells reproduce. As a result, they
share several steps in their respective processes.
Mitosis involves a single nuclear division in which the two daughter cells formed
are genetically identical to each other and to the original cell; synapsis of homologous
chromosomes does not occur during mitosis. This type of cell division is used to produce
somatic cells or non-reproductive cells. The major purpose of mitosis is for growth and
replacement of worn out cells.
Mitotic prophase is much shorter that meiotic prophase I. There is no crossing over
in mitosis. In mitotic metaphase, a single chromosome/ pair of chromatids line up along
the metaphase plate. Sister chromatids are identical and so the orientation of the
chromosome does not carry any meaning. In anaphase of mitosis (and meiosis II),
cohesin protein holding the centromeres of the sister chromatids together is cleaved,
allowing the sister chromatids to segregate to opposite poles of the cell, at which point
they are called chromosomes. In mitosis, cytokinesis does not always occur.
 Meiosis involves two successive nuclear divisions and forms four haploid cells,
each with a different combination of genes, synapses of homologous chromosomes
occurs during prophase I of meiosis. This type of cell division is used to produce germ
cells or reproductive cells.
Meiotic prophase I is much longer that mitotic prophase. In meiotic metaphase I
pairs of homologous chromosomes line up along the metaphase plate. The way in which
the homologous pairs are oriented randomly with respect to the cell poles. In anaphase
of meiosis I cohesin at the centromeres of the chromosomes is not cleaved and it
therefore continues to hold sister chromatids together as the homologous chromosomes
are segregated to opposite cell poles. In meiosis, cytokinesis must occur twice: once after
telophase I and again, after telophase II.

3. What plant specimen is commonly used in studying mitosis? Name the specific
part of the plant and why it is the part used?
Cell division occurs rapidly in growing root tips of sprouting seeds or bulbs. The
most commonly used root tip in labs to study mitosis is onion. An onion root tip is a rapidly
growing part of the onion and thus many cells will be in different stages of mitosis.
Furthermore, it is because of the meristematic cells that are situated in the tip of the roots
that render the most desirable and suitable raw material to study the different stages of
mitosis. In addition to that, onion is a monocot plant. Monocotyledonous plants possess
large chromosomes that are clearly visible. Hence, their root tips are used. The period of
time taken for mitosis varies as it is dependent on the cell type and type of species.

4. Define spindle, chromosome, chromatin and sister chromatid.

Spindle is the structure consisting mainly of microtubules that provides the
framework for chromosome movement during cell division. Spindle fibers form a protein
structure that divides the genetic material in a cell. The spindle is necessary to equally
divide the chromosomes in a parental cell into two daughter cells during both types of
nuclear division: mitosis and meiosis. During mitosis, the spindle fibers are called the
mitotic spindle.
Chromosomes are thread-like structures located inside the nucleus of animal and
plant cells. Each chromosome is made of protein and a single molecule of
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Passed from parents to offspring, DNA contains the specific
instructions that make each type of living creature unique.
Chromatin is a complex of DNA and proteins that forms chromosomes within the
nucleus of eukaryotic cells. The DNA carries the cell's genetic instructions. The major
proteins in chromatin are histones, which help package the DNA in a compact form that
fits in the cell nucleus.
Sister chromatids are two identical copies of the same chromosome formed by
DNA replication, attached to each other by a structure called the centromere.
5. Define diffusion, osmosis, and plasmolysis.
Diffusion is the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration of the
molecules to an area with a lower concentration. The difference in the concentrations of
the molecules in the two areas is called the concentration gradient. Diffusion is an
important process for living things; it is how substances move in and out of cells.
 Osmosis, a special kind of diffusion, is the movement of water from a region with
a higher concentration of water to a region with a lower concentration of water through a
semi-permeable membrane. An example of osmosis occurs when sugar solution and
water are separated by a semipermeable membrane. The solution's large sugar
molecules cannot pass through the membrane into the water. Small water molecules
move through the membrane until equilibrium is established.
Plasmolysis is the shrinking of the cytoplasm of a plant cell in response to diffusion
of water out of the cell and into a high salt concentration solution. During plasmolysis, the
cell membrane pulls away from the cell wall. This does not happen in low salt
concentration because of the rigid cell wall. Some real-life examples of Plasmolysis are:
Shrinkage of vegetables in hypertonic conditions. Blood cell shrinks when they are placed
in the hypertonic conditions. During extreme coastal flooding, ocean water deposits salt
onto land.

6. Watch the video “Diffusion, Osmosis and Plasmolysis” posted in gclassroom to

answer the following questions:
a. In the experiment of diffusion, explain the changing of color in the dialysis
bag.

The piece of dialysis tubing, containing a starch solution, had a semi-

permeable membrane, which allows small particles like iodine to cross into
the tubing while preventing large molecules like starch from crossing the
membrane. When starch and iodine are mixed together, iodine turns starch
into a blue-black (sometimes purple) color after a few hours. The iodine
diffused into the dialysis tubing, while the starch was retained inside. Starch
is a long polymer molecule in one shape of a coil. Amylose in starch is
responsible for the formation of a deep blue color in the presence of iodine,
which is its color in its element form. The iodine molecule slips inside of the
amylose coil. The iodine molecules goes inside of the coil and this is what
makes it turn blue-black. Iodine is not very soluble in water; therefore, the
iodine reagent is made by dissolving iodine in water in the presence of
potassium iodide. This makes a linear triiodide ion complex with is soluble
that slips into the coil of the starch causing the intense color.

b. In the experiment of osmosis, explain the rise of liquid inside the potato.

The level of sugar solution in the potato cavity rises off to some time
due to the entry of water into the sugar solution through the selectively
permeable membrane of the cells of the potato. The pure energy of water
is higher than that of the sugar solution so when osmosis occurred, the
solvent moved from a region with high free energy to a region with low free
energy through a semi permeable membrane.

c. In the experiment of plasmolysis, describe and explain what the happened

to the cells.

After half an hour, the cells in Sodium Chloride 0.1% Solution appear
turgid while the cells in Sodium Chloride 5% solution have undergone
plasmolysis and shrunk. In plasmolysis, the protoplasm of the cells shrinks
or contracts as a result of loss of water from the cell through osmosis. When
 a cell is placed in a solution with a solute concentration higher than that
within the cell, water flows out of the cell and into the surrounding solution.

7. Which part of the cell is greatly affected by plasmolysis? Why?

Plasmolysis is a typical response of plant cells exposed to hyperosmotic stress.
The loss of turgor causes the violent detachment of the living protoplast from the cell
wall. The plasmolytic process is mainly driven by the vacuole.
In hyperosmotic solutions, water is extruded from the vacuole causing a loss of
turgor pressure. If this state persists, the protoplast retracts further, causing the
detachment of the plasma membrane from the rigid cell wall. The cell membrane,
then, is greatly affected by this phenomenon since it eventually induces it to collapse
inside the cell wall resulting in gaps between the cell wall and cell membrane and lysis
occurs as the cell shrivels and dies.
However, in interphase cells, it is expected to exert the strongest impact on cortical
microtubules since they are closely linked to the plasma membrane, exerting a role in
oriented cellulose microfibril deposition. Plant cortical microtubules, which form a
highly ordered array beneath the plasma membrane, play essential roles in
determining cell shape and function by directing the arrangement of cellulosic and
non-cellulosic compounds on the cell surface. At the onset of plasmolysis, cortical
microtubules became wavy in order to accommodate the decreased shape of the
protoplast. Rearrangement of cortical microtubules immediately influence the
trajectory of the cellulose synthase complex.

8. What are the factors that may affect osmosis?

There are six factors that may affect osmosis which includes temperature, surface
area, difference in water potential, pressure, and light and dark. The higher the
temperature, the faster the movement of water molecules across the semi permeable
membrane. The larger the surface area, the more space for the molecules to move
easily across; the smaller the area, the more restricted the movements of the
molecules and the slower the movement. The higher the difference in water potential,
the faster the osmosis; for the lesser water molecules are in the region of low
concentration, more water molecules from the region of higher concentration can
enter faster and easier. The more the pressure, the faster the molecules will move for
they are being pushed faster across a low concentration. The movement of osmosis
is affected by the concentration gradient; the lower the concentration of the solute
within a solvent, the faster osmosis will occur in that solvent. Light and darkness are
also factors of osmosis; since the brighter the light, the faster osmosis takes place.