Reproduction and the Cell Cycle

Vocabulary flashcards covering sexual and asexual reproduction, methods of asexual reproduction, and the stages of the eukaryotic cell cycle.

Reproduction

The transfer of genetic information from one generation to the next, allowing a species to continue across generations.

Offspring

The young produced by reproduction.

Sexual reproduction

A process where genetic materials from two different cells combine to produce an offspring, involving the joining of two reproductive cells (one from each parent).

Gametes

The sex cells involved in sexual reproduction.

Egg

The female sex cell.

Sperm

The male sex cell.

Fertilization

The process that occurs when an egg and a sperm join.

Zygote

The new cell formed when an egg and a sperm join.

Genetic variation

Differences among offspring that can help some individuals resist diseases or survive changes in their environment.

Asexual reproduction

A type of reproduction that involves one parent, does not require fertilization, and produces offspring that inherit their DNA from that single parent.

Binary Fission

A form of asexual reproduction where a single prokaryotic cell copies its DNA, elongates, and splits into two genetically identical cells as the cell membrane pinches inward.

Budding

A form of asexual reproduction where a new organism grows by mitosis and cell division on the body of its parent.

Regeneration

A type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism can grow from a piece of its parent, or an animal can regrow missing body parts.

Vegetative Propagation

A type of asexual reproduction where a new plant grows from part of a parent plant, such as through runners that form roots.

Cell cycle

The series of events involving the growth and division of a eukaryotic cell, including interphase, mitosis, and cytokinesis.

Interphase

The longest phase of the cell cycle consisting of stages $G_1$, $S$, and $G_2$, during which chromatin is uncoiled, DNA and centrioles replicate, and the cell prepares for mitosis.

Prophase

The first and longest phase of mitosis, during which chromatin condenses into visible chromosomes, centrioles move to opposite poles, spindle fibers form, and the nuclear envelope breaks down.

Centromere

The point where sister chromatids are joined together and where spindle fibers attach during mitosis.

Metaphase

The phase of mitosis during which spindle fibers attach to chromosomes at the centromere and chromosomes line up across the middle of the cell.

Anaphase

The phase of mitosis in which centromeres split, sister chromatids separate into individual chromosomes, and shortening spindle fibers pull them toward opposite poles.

Telophase

The phase of mitosis where chromosomes reach opposite poles and uncoil, a new nuclear envelope forms around each set, the nucleolus becomes visible, and spindle fibers disappear.

Cytokinesis

The division of the cell's cytoplasm that occurs at about the same time as telophase, resulting in two identical daughter cells.

Cleavage furrow

The structure formed in animal cells during cytokinesis when the membrane pinches inward.

Cell plate

A structure that forms in the middle of a dividing plant cell during cytokinesis and develops into two new cell walls.

Gene

The basic physical and functional unit of heredity made up of a specific sequence of DNA.

Chromatin

A complex mixture of DNA and proteins that makes up the chromosomes inside the nucleus of eukaryotic cells.

Chromosome

Thread-like structures made of DNA tightly coiled around proteins called histones.