Chapter 5 The mitotic cell cycle

5.1 Growth and Reproduction

 the nucleus controls the cell’s activities, because it contains the genetic material, DNA, which acts as a set of
instructions, or code, for life
 All the cells in the body are genetically identical (apart from gametes) because they all come from zygote.
 zygote formed when mother and father gametes fused.
 zygote divides into two cells with identical nuclei = nuclear division = mitosis, followed by cell division
 repeated in a cycle called the mitotic cell cycle to produce all the cells of your body

5.2 Chromosomes
Just before a cell divides, chromosomes become visible - stain intensely - ‘chromo’ = coloured and ‘somes’ = bodies.
The number of chromosomes is characteristic of the species.

Figure 5.2:
 set of chromosomes in a human male, just before cell division.
 Each chromosome is composed of two chromatids held together at the
centromere.
 Note the different sizes of the chromosomes
 and the different positions of the centromeres

The structure of chromosomes

 one chromosome is made of two identical chromatids, joined together by a centromere = Sister chromatids.
 During interphase, each DNA molecule makes an identical copy of itself. Each chromatid contains one of these
DNA copies.
 DNA is the molecule of inheritance and is made up of a series of genes. Each gene is one unit of inheritance.
 When cells divide, one chromatid goes into one daughter cell and one goes into the other daughter cell, making
the daughter cells genetically identical.
 Although the DNA molecule is only 2 nm wide, the total length of DNA in the 46 chromosomes = 1.8 m.
 has to be packed into a nucleus which is only 6 μm in diameter.
 The combination of DNA and proteins is called chromatin. Chromosomes are made of chromatin.
 Histone proteins are basic - interact with DNA, which is acidic.
 Chromosomes also possess two more features essential for successful nuclear division: centromeres and
telomeres.

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5.3 The cell cycle
Mitosis is nuclear division that produces two genetically identical daughter nuclei, each containing the same number of
chromosomes as the parent nucleus.
cell cycle: the sequence of events that takes place from one cell division until the next; it is made up of interphase,
mitosis and cytokinesis

1.During interphase,
 the cell grows and carries out its normal functions.
 Interphase consists of G1, S and G2.

I. During G1,
 Cells make the RNA, enzymes, proteins needed for growth.
 At the end of G1, the cell becomes committed to dividing or not
dividing.

II. S phase (synthesis of DNA): a relatively short phase

 a signal may be received that the cell should divide again.
 the DNA replicates so that each chromosome consists of two
identical chromatids.

III. During G2,

 the cell continues to grow
 the new DNA that was made during the S phase is checked.
Any errors are repaired.
 Preparations are made to begin the division.
 For example, there is a sharp increase in production of the
protein tubulin which is needed to make microtubules for the
mitotic spindle.

2.Nuclear division: Growth stops temporarily during mitosis.

3.Cytokinesis: the whole cell divides to two genetically identical cells.

 In animal cells, cell division involves constriction of the cytoplasm between the two new nuclei=cytokinesis.
 In plant cells, it involves the formation of a new cell wall between the two new nuclei.

 The length of the cell cycle is very variable, depending on environmental conditions and cell type.
 root tip cells of onions divide once every 20 hours;
 epithelial cells in the human intestine every 10 hours.

5.4 Mitosis
prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase.
plant cells differ in two ways:
• plant cells do not contain centrosomes
• after nuclear division of a plant cell, a new cell wall must form between
the daughter nuclei.

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Centrosomes, centrioles and centromeres
 Centrosomes are located at the poles of the spindle, one at each pole.
 the centrosome found in animal cells that acts as a microtubule organizing center (MTOC).
 Centrosomes are responsible for making the spindle, which is made of microtubules.
 The spindle is needed for separation of the chromatids.
 Each centrosome consists of a pair of centrioles surrounded by a large number of proteins.
 It is these proteins that control production of the microtubules, not the centrioles.
 Plant mitosis occurs without centrosomes.

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  The centromere holds the chromatids together, but is also involved in the separation of chromatids during
mitosis.
 During mitosis the centromere is the site of attachment of spindle microtubules.
 Each metaphase chromosome has two kinetochores at its centromere, one on each chromatid
 The kinetochores are protein molecules which connect the centromere to the spindle microtubules.
 Bundles of microtubules called spindle fibres extend from the kinetochores to the poles of the spindle during
mitosis.
 Construction of kinetochores begins before nuclear division starts (during the S phase) and they are lost again
afterwards.
 The microtubules attached to the kinetochore pull the kinetochore towards the pole of the spindle. The rest of the
chromatid drags behind, giving the characteristic > or < shape of chromatids during anaphase
 The pulling action is achieved by shortening of the microtubules, both from the pole end and from the
kinetochore end.

kinetochore: a protein structure found at the centromere of a chromatid to which microtubules attach during nuclear
division

Importance of mitosis

1) Growth of multicellular organisms

The two daughter cells formed after mitosis have the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell and are
genetically identical (clones). This allows growth of multicellular organisms from unicellular zygotes.

2) Replacement of damaged or dead cells and repair of tissues by cell replacement

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 Cells are constantly dying and being replaced by identical cells.
In the human body, for example, cell replacement is rapid in the skin and in the lining of the gut.
Some animals are able to regenerate whole parts of the body; for example, starfish can regenerate new arms.

3) Asexual reproduction
Mitosis is the basis of asexual reproduction, the production of new individuals of a species by a single parent
organism. The offspring are genetically identical to the parents.

 For a unicellular organism such as Amoeba, cell division results in reproduction.

 For multicellular organisms, new individuals may be produced which bud off from the parent in various ways:
 Budding is particularly common in plants. It is most commonly a form of vegetative propagation in which a bud
on part of the stem simply grows a new plant. The new plant eventually becomes detached from the parent and
lives independently. The bud may be part of the stem of an overwintering structure such as a bulb or tuber.
 The ability to generate whole organisms from single cells or small groups of cells is important in biotechnology
and genetic engineering, and it is the basis of cloning.

4) Immune response
The cloning of B- and T-lymphocytes during the immune response is dependent on mitosis

5.5 The role of telomeres

 DNA is replicated (copied) during the S phase of the cell cycle.
 The copying enzyme cannot run to the end of a strand of DNA and complete the replication – it stops a little
short of the end.
 If part of the DNA is not copied, that piece of information is lost.

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  At each subsequent division, another small section of information from the end of the DNA strand would be lost.
Eventually, the loss of vital genes would result in cell death.

 Telomeres are found at the ends of chromosomes

 Telomeres are made of DNA with short base sequences that are repeated many times
 Telomeres work by making the DNA a bit longer.
 They have no useful information, but allow the copying enzyme to complete copying all the meaningful DNA.

 The enzyme telomerase adds extra bases to the telomere during each cell cycle to replace those that are not
copied, so no vital information will be lost from the non-telomere DNA and the cell will be able to continue
dividing successfully.
 The main function of telomeres is to prevent the loss of genes during cell division and to allow continued
replication of a cell.

 Some cells do not ‘top up’ their telomeres at each division. These tend to be fully differentiated (specialised)
cells.
 With each division, their telomeres get a little shorter until the vital DNA is no longer protected and the cell dies.
This could be one of the mechanisms of ageing, by which humans grow old and die.

5.6 The role of stem cells

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  Stem cell: Can undergo mitosis (self-renewal)
Can stay undifferentiated
Can differentiate into specialized cells

Potency: The power of a stem cell to produce different types of cell.

1) Any kind of cells = totipotency

2) Many, but not all kinds of cells = pluripotency
3) Restricted range of cell types = multipotency

The zygote formed by the fusion of a sperm with an egg at fertilisation is

totipotent, as are all the cells up to the 16-cell stage of development in
humans.

After that, some cells become specialised to form the placenta , These
embryonic stem cells are described as pluripotent.

Sources of adult stem cells :

• 1. bone marrow cells ;
• 2. skin cells ;
• 3. blood / connective tissue ;
• 4. adipose tissue ;

Stem cell therapy is the introduction of new adult stem cells

into damaged tissue to treat disease or injury. Bone marrow
transplantation is an example of this therapy that has
progressed beyond the experimental stage into routine
medical practice. It is used to treat blood and bone marrow
diseases, and blood cancers such as leukaemia.

In the future, it is hoped to be able to treat conditions such as

diabetes.

5.7 Cancers

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cancers: a group of diseases that result from a breakdown in the usual control mechanisms that regulate cell division;
certain cells divide uncontrollably and form tumours, from which cells may break away and form secondary tumours in
other areas of the body (metastasis)

 Cancers start when changes occur in the genes that control cell division.
 A change in any gene is called a mutation.
 The mutated gene that causes cancer is an oncogene.

 Mutations are not unusual events, and most of the time they do not lead to cancer.
 Most mutated cells are affected in some way that results in their early death or their destruction by the body’s
immune system.
 Most cells can be replaced, so mutation usually has no harmful effect on the body.

 Unfortunately, cancer cells manage to escape both cell death and destruction so, although the mutation may
originally occur in only one cell, it is passed on to all that cell’s descendants. By the time it is detected, a typical
tumour usually contains about a billion cancer cells.

 carcinogen: a substance or environmental factor that can cause cancer

The spread of cancers in this way is called metastasis.

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