ZOOL112LAB

Principles of Zoology

Name ______Daniel C. Bernal________________________ Section _PY13_____ Score ___________________

Activity No. 1
Animal Cell Division: Mitosis in Whitefish Blastula

Introduction

Mitosis, also called karyokinesis, is division of the nucleus and its chromosomes.  It is followed by
division of the cytoplasm known as cytokinesis.  Both mitosis and cytokinesis are parts of the life of a cell called
the Cell Cycle.  Most of the life of a cell is spent in a non-dividing phase called Interphase.   Interphase includes
G1 stage in which the newly divided cells grow in size, S stage in which the number of chromosomes is doubled
and appear as chromatin, and G2 stage where the cell makes the enzymes & other cellular materials needed for
mitosis.
The whitefish blastula is an early stage of embryo development and represents a period in the organism's
life when most of the cells are constantly dividing. Moreover, the dividing cell have very large and easily seen
chromosomes, so it’s easy to find lots of cells in each stage of mitosis. Human chromosomes on the other hand,
are not clearly visible at higher power magnification.
Objectives:
1. Identify the four stages of mitosis, namely; prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase.
2. Describe the events taking place in each event and the implication of such event.
3. Explain why living cells should undergo mitosis.
 Materials
● Activity sheets
● Some example of whitefish blastula cells (virtual lab or images from internet or textbook)

Procedure:

1. Observe whitefish blastula cells undergoing cell division or mitosis. For virtual lab, click this link:
http://bio.rutgers.edu/~gb101/lab2_mitosis/section2_frames.html or refer to images from internet or
textbook.
2. Draw them in the spaces provided under Data of the activity sheets.
3. Answer all questions given.

Data:

Prophase in Whitefish blastula Metaphase in White fish blastula

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 Anaphase in Whitefish blastula Telophase in Whitefish blastula

Questions:

1. Why is the whitefish embryo a good specimen to study mitosis?

Because the whitefish embryo’s cells are rapidly dividing as the fish embryo is growing. The cells are
also not dividing synchronously so you can witness the different stages of mitosis.

2. Enumerate the events/chemical processes taking place in the following stages:

a. G1 (Gap 1)

The cells increase in size and it produces RNA and synthesizes protein. G1 checkpoint is activated
which is the important cell cycle control mechanism which means that it ensures that everything is
ready for DNA synthesis.

b. S (DNA Synthesis)

Produces two similar daughter cells by duplicating the complete DNA instructions. In simpler words it is called
“DNA replication”.

c. G2 (Gap 2)

Cell continues to grow and produce new proteins at the end of this gap there is another control
checkpoint (G2 checkpoint) to determine if the cell can proceed to enter mitosis and divide.

d. Prophase

During prophase, the nucleolus fades and chromatin (replicated DNA and associated proteins)
condenses into chromosomes. Each replicated chromosome comprises two chromatids, both with the
same genetic information. Microtubules of the cytoskeleton, responsible for cell shape, motility and

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 attachment to other cells during interphase, disassemble. And the building blocks of these
microtubules are used to grow the mitotic spindle from the region of the centrosomes

e. Metaphase

Tension applied by the spindle fibers aligns all chromosomes in one plane at the center of the cell.

f. Anaphase

Spindle fibers shorten, the kinetochores separate, and the chromatids (daughter chromosomes) are pulled apart
and begin moving to the cell poles.

g. Telophase

The daughter chromosomes arrive at the poles and the spindle fibers that have pulled them apart disappear.

3. The photograph below consists of several cells of Whitefish blastula undergoing mitosis. Choose four cells and
label each cell as to the stage of mitosis it is undergoing.

Metaphase

Telophase

Anaphase
Prophase

4. In what ways mitosis is important in multicellular organisms?

Mitosis is important to them because mitosis is the growth and repairment of their cell. Whenever their skin is
damaged, mitosis occurs and repairs itself through the production of new skin cells or scar tissue. Other organism
can use mitosis to replace their lost body parts by regenerating it back.

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SOURCES Animal Cell Mitosis . (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2020, from:
https://www.cellsalive.com/mitosis.htm

Meister, D. (2016, September 29). What Are the Functions of Mitosis in Unicellular &
Multicellular Organisms? Retrieved August 22, 2020, from:
https://education.seattlepi.com/functions-mitosis-unicellular-multicellular-organisms-
5184.html