CELL DIVISION

MITOSIS
•MITOSIS - A FUNDAMENTAL PROCESS FOR LIFE,
DURING THIS PROCESS, A CELL DUPLICATES ALL
OF ITS CONTENT INCLUDING THE
CHROMOSOMES, AND SPLITS TO FORM TWO
IDENTICAL DAUGHTER CELLS. THESE
DAUGHTER CELLS ARE CALLED DIPLOID CELLS.
MITOSIS PHASES
• THE MITOSIS CELL CYCLE INVOLVES MANY PHASES, WHICH ARE:
 INTERPHASE
• INTERPHASE– IT IS THE PERIOD WHEN A CELL IS GETTING
READY TO DIVIDE AND START THE CELL CYCLE. DURING THIS
TIME, CELLS ARE GATHERING NUTRIENTS AND ENERGY.

• INTERPHASE IS DIVIDED INTO THREE DISTINCT STAGES, GAP

1, SYNTHESIS, AND GAP 2.
G1
• AFTER CELLS HAVE FINISHED DIVIDING THEIR CHROMOSOMES,
AND CYTOKINESIS HAS DIVIDED THE CELL MEMBRANE, THE TWO NEW CELLS ENTER
THE FIRST STAGE OF INTERPHASE, GAP 1 OR G1. DURING THIS STAGE, THE CELL
PERFORMS ITS NORMAL FUNCTIONS, AND GROWS IN SIZE. THE CELL REPLICATES
ORGANELLES AS NECESSARY. AS SEEN CELLS CAN SOMETIMES LEAVE G1 AND ENTER
G0, OR RESTING PHASE.

• THE CELL IS AN ACTIVELY DIVIDING CELL, IT WILL CONTINUE INTERPHASE BY

ENTERING THE NEXT PHASE SYNTHESIS.
S
• SYNTHESIS

• DURING SYNTHESIS, THE CELL PAUSES ITS NORMAL FUNCTIONING. ALL RESOURCES ARE DEDICATED TO
REPLICATING THE DNA. THIS PROCESS STARTS WITH THE TWO ENTWINED STANDS OF DNA BEING “UNZIPPED” BY
VARIOUS PROTEINS. OTHER PROTEINS, KNOWN AS POLYMERASE ENZYMES, START CREATING NEW STRANDS TO
PAIR WITH EACH HALF OF THE DNA. THIS IS DONE ON EACH CHROMOSOME, WHICH CREATES AN IDENTICAL COPY
OF EACH, BOUND TOGETHER AS SISTER CHROMATIDS. IF THE CELL IS A SOMATIC CELL, IT WILL ENTER MITOSIS
AFTER INTERPHASE AND THE SISTER CHROMATIDS WILL BE SEPARATED, CREATING TWO IDENTICAL COPIES OF THE
GENOME IN EACH CELL. IF THE CELL WILL GIVE RISE TO A GAMETE IT WILL ENTER MEIOSIS AFTER INTERPHASE. IN
MEIOSIS, HOMOLOGOUS CHROMOSOMES ARE SEPARATED IN ONE DIVISION, THEN SISTER CHROMATID IN THE
NEXT, CREATING CELLS WITH ONLY HALF OF A FULL GENOME. THESE CELLS ENTER INTERPHASE, BUT SYNTHESIS
STAGE CANNOT OCCUR UNTIL FERTILIZATION OCCURS WITH ANOTHER GAMETE. EITHER WAY, AFTER SYNTHESIS,
THE CELL MUST PREPARE FOR CELL DIVISION.
G2
• GAP 2

• AFTER THE DNA HAS BEEN REPLICATED DURING SYNTHESIS STAGE, THE CELL ENTERS A SECOND GAP
STAGE, KNOWN AS GAP 2 OR G2. DURING G2 THE CELL THE CELL ADDS VOLUME TO THE CYTOPLASM,
AND REPLICATES MANY IMPORTANT ORGANELLES. IN ANIMALS, THE MITOCHONDRIA ARE REPLICATED
TO PROVIDE ENOUGH ENERGY FOR THE DIVIDING CELL. IN PLANTS, BOTH THE MITOCHONDRIA AND
THE CHLOROPLASTS MUST BE REPLICATED TO PROVIDE THE DAUGHTER CELLS WITH ORGANELLES
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING ENERGY. G2 EXTENDS UNTIL THE CELL ENTERS CELL DIVISION, SEEN AS THE
“M” IN THE DIAGRAM ABOVE. THE CELL DIVIDES THROUGH MITOSIS, AND THE SEQUENCE STARTS
AGAIN. IF THE CELL DIVIDES THROUGH MEIOSIS, THE GAMETE MUST BECOME FERTILIZED WITH MORE
DNA BEFORE FULLY ENTERING INTO INTERPHASE AND ALLOWING THE CYCLE TO CONTINUE.
PROPHASE
• THERE ARE TWO STAGES EARLY AND LATE PROPHASE. IN THE EARLY PROPHASE, THE
CELL INITIATES CELL DIVISION BY BREAKING DOWN AND BUILDING OTHER
COMPONENTS, AND THEN CHROMOSOME DIVISION STARTS. IN THE LATE STAGES,
MITOTIC SPINDLE STARTS TO ORGANIZE THE CHROMOSOMES.
METAPHASE
• IT STARTS WHEN THE MITOTIC SPINDLE ORGANIZES ALL CHROMOSOMES AND LINES
THEM UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CELL TO DIVIDE. AT THIS STAGE OF METAPHASE, THE
TWO KINETOCHORES OF EACH CHROMOSOME SHOULD BE ATTACHED TO
MICROTUBULES FROM OPPOSITE SPINDLE POLES. BEFORE PROCEEDING FORWARD
TO ANAPHASE, THE CELL WILL CHECK IF ALL KINETOCHORES ARE PROPERLY
ATTACHED TO MICROTUBULES AND IT IS CALLED THE SPINDLE CHECKPOINT. THE
SPINDLE CHECKPOINT ENSURES THAT THE CELL IS SPLITTED EQUALLY INTO TWO
DAUGHTER CELLS.
ANAPHASE
 IN THIS STAGE, THE CHROMATIDS SEPARATE FROM EACH OTHER AND MOVE
TOWARDS THE OPPOSITE POLES OF THE CELL. THE PROTEIN GLUE THAT HOLDS
THEM BREAKS AND ALLOWS THEM TO SEPARATE.
TELOPHASE
• IN THIS STAGE, THE CELL IS ALMOST DIVIDED AND STARTS TO RE-ESTABLISH
ITS NORMAL CELLULAR STRUCTURES AS CYTOKINESIS TAKES PLACE. THE
MITOTIC SPINDLE BREAKS DOWN INTO ITS BUILDING BLOCKS AND TWO NEW
NUCLEI ARE FORMED, ONE FOR EACH SET OF CHROMOSOMES.
CYTOKINESIS
• IN ANIMAL CELLS, CYTOKINESIS IS CONTRACTILE. THERE’S A PINCH-LIKE FORMATION
WITHIN THE CELL WHICH DIVIDES IT IN TWO LIKE A COIN PURSE WITH A ‘DRAWSTRING’.
THE “DRAWSTRING” IS A BAND OF ACTIN PROTEIN FILAMENTS. THE PINCH CREASE IS
CALLED THE CLEAVAGE FURROW. PLANT CELLS CAN’T BE DIVIDED LIKE THIS AS THEY
HAVE A RIGID CELL WALL AND ARE TOO STIFF. A CELL PLATE FORMS DOWN THE MIDDLE
OF THE CELL WHICH SPLITS THE DAUGHTER CELLS.
MEIOSIS
•A TYPE OF CELL DIVISION IN SEXUALLY REPRODUCING EUKARYOTES, RESULTING IN
FOUR DAUGHTER CELLS (GAMETES), EACH OF WHICH HAS HALF THE NUMBER OF
CHROMOSOMES AS COMPARED TO THE ORIGINAL DIPLOID PARENT CELL.

•IN BOTH PLANTS AND ANIMALS, GERM CELLS ARE LOCALIZED IN THE GONADS, BUT
THE TIME AT WHICH MEIOSIS TAKES PLACE VARIES AMONG DIFFERENT ORGANISMS.
INTERPHASE