Concept 12.1: Most cell division results in genetically identical daughter cells

Flashcards from Concept 12.1 of Pearson's Campbell Biology, Twelfth Edition.

Interphase

Phase of the cell cycle in which the cell grows in preparation for cell division

• Chromosomes are duplicated

• Genetic material is copied precisely

Mitosis

Phase of the cell cycle where the chromosome copies from interphase are separated from each other and moved to opposite ends of the cell

Cytokinesis

Phrase of the cell cycle where the cell divides into two daughter cells, genetically identical to each other and the parent cell

• Daugher cells may go on to divide after interphase, restarting the cell cycle

Cell division

The reproduction of cells to ensure the continuity of life

• Is the characteristic that distinguishes living things from nonliving matter

• Seen in:

  • Single-celled organisms giving rise to new organisms

  • Multicellular eukaryotes undergoing embryonic division as well as renewal and repair for the fully grown

Genetic material (DNA)

Instructions for the cell’s function within a eukaryote’s nucelus or prokaryote’s interior

• Cell division is remarkably accurate in passing this from one generation to the next

Genome

All the DNA within a cell

• Consists of a single DNA molecule (common for prokaryotes) or a number of DNA molecules (common in eukaryotes)

Chromosome

The packaging form for DNA molecules in a eukaryotic cell

• Carries several hundred to a few thousand genes

• Every eukaryotic species has a characteristic number of these in each cell nucleus

Chromatin

A complex of DNA and protein that condenses during cell division in eukaryotic chromosomes

Somatic cells (nonreproductive cells)

Cells that have two sets of chromosomes

Gametes (reproductive cells)

Cells that have half as many chromosomes as somatic cells

• Produced by a variation of cell division called meiosis

Sister chromatids

Joined copies of the original chromosome created during DNA replication in preparation for cell division

• These separate and move into two nuclei during cell division, thus turning into chromosomes

Centromere

The narrow “waist” of the duplicated chromosome where the two chromatids are most closely attached

Meiosis

The variation of cell division that creates gametes

• Yields nonidentical daughter cells with half as many chromosomes as the parent cell