Reproduction and Cell Cycle Study Guide

Vocabulary flashcards covering the concepts, processes, and structures of sexual reproduction, asexual reproduction, the cell cycle, and mitosis.

Reproduction

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

Offspring

The young produced by reproduction.

Sexual Reproduction

A type of reproduction in which genetic materials from two different cells combine to produce an offspring.

Gametes

Sex cells, consisting of the female egg and the male sperm.

Egg

The female sex cell involved in sexual reproduction.

Sperm

The male sex cell involved in sexual reproduction.

Fertilization

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

Zygote

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

Genetic Variation

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

Selective Breeding

A process that helps people develop plants and animals with desirable traits.

Asexual Reproduction

A form of reproduction involving one parent that does not require fertilization and produces offspring genetically identical to the parent and to each other.

Binary Fission

A type of asexual reproduction where a single prokaryotic cell copies its DNA, elongates, and pinches inward at the cell membrane to split into two identical cells.

Budding

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

Regeneration

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

Vegetative Propagation

A form of asexual reproduction in which a new plant grows from a part of a parent plant.

Runners

Stems sent out by certain plants in vegetative propagation that form roots where they touch the ground.

Cell Cycle

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

Interphase

The cell cycle stage comprising $G_1$, $S$, and $G_2$, during which the cell grows, replicates DNA and centrioles, and chromatin remains uncoiled.

Chromatin

The uncoiled, or relaxed, form of DNA found in the nucleus during interphase.

Centrioles

Structures that replicate during interphase and move to opposite poles during animal cell division (absent in plant cells).

Prophase

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

Centromere

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

Spindle Fibers

Structures that form during prophase, attach to centromeres, and shorten to pull chromosomes toward opposite cell poles.

Metaphase

The phase of mitosis in which spindle fibers attach to centromeres and chromosomes line up across the middle of the cell.

Anaphase

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

Telophase

The phase of mitosis where chromosomes reach opposite poles, uncoil, spindle fibers disappear, and two new nuclear envelopes form.

Cytokinesis

The division of the cell's cytoplasm, occurring around the same time as telophase to yield two identical daughter cells.

Cleavage Furrow

The inward pinch of the cell membrane that divides animal cells during cytokinesis.

Cell Plate

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