Science

QUARTER 4 – Module 2
Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis

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I. Cell Division
After you go through with this module, you are expected to:
• Content Standard: Demonstrate understanding of how cells divide to
produce new cells.
• Most Essential Learning Competency:
Compare mitosis and meiosis, and their role in the cell -division cycle.
Explain the significance of meiosis in maintaining the chromosome number.

II. CONCEPT NOTES:

The Cell Cycle

Cells follow a cycle of growing and dividing, known as the cell cycle. Every time the
parent cell undergoes the cell cycle, it produces daughter cells. Therefore, the cell cycle always
leads to an increased number of cells.
There are two main stages in the cell cycle-interphase and cell division.

Figure 1. The Cell Cycle

The interphase refers to the period that follows one cell division and precedes another.
During this stage, the cell does not divide; it merely grows. The chromosomes replicated itself
because the DNA molecule contained in the chromosome produces an exact copy of itself.
Interphase can be divided into three phases of metabolic activity. The first phase is the
gap 1 phase or G1 phase, which is the primary growth phase of the cell. It is called a gap phase
to indicate the filling of the gap between cytokinesis and DNA synthesis. During the G 1 phase,
the cell grows and increase in size. Proteins are also synthesized and cell organelles are
produced.
The second phase is the synthesis phase, or S phase, where the DNA of the cell, including
chromosomes, is replicated.
The last phase is the gap 2 phase or G2 phase, which fills the space between DNA
synthesis and the beginning of cell division. During G2, cells extensively synthesize organelles
and other materials, many of which have specific roles in cell division.

Cell Division
Cell division may be nuclear (karyokinesis), which involves the division of the
chromosomes; or cytoplasmic (cytokinesis), the division of the cytoplasm. In eukaryotes, cells
divide by either mitosis or meiosis.

Mitosis
It is a type of cell division that occurs in nonreproductive (somatic)cells, such as those in
skin and bones. In mitosis, two identical daughter cells are reproduced from a single parent.
Mitosis involves four stages: prophase, anaphase, and telophase. Figure 2 summarizes the events
happening at each stage.
After telophase, two identical daughter cells are produced from one parent cell. These
daughter cells then enter the interphase stage of another cell cycle.

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The Four Stages of Mitosis

Prophase Metaphase Anaphase Telophase

Prophase
• The nucleolus disappears in the nucleus. This serves as a “starting signal.”
• Nuclear membrane disintegrates.
• The chromatins undergo changes until they become double stranded and are called
chromatids.
• The chromatids are connected together at one point by a centromere.
Metaphase
• The chromatids align themselves at the equator of the cell.
• Spindle fibers are also formed.
• Each chromatid is attached to the spindle by a structure in the centromere called
kinetochore.
Anaphase
• The paired centromeres of each chromosome separate towards the opposite poles of the
cells as they are pulled by the spindle fibers through their kinetochores. This liberates the
sister chromatids.
• Each chromatid is now regarded as a full-fledged chromosome and is only made up of
one sister chromatid.
Telophase
• The chromosomes are now at the opposite poles of the spindle.
• A new nuclear membrane forms around them while the spindle fibers disappear.
• Karyokinesis, the equal division of one nucleus, is now complete. Cytokinesis, the
division of the cytoplasm, comes next and the process comes to an end.

In animal cells, cytokinesis involves the formation of a cleavage furrow, which pinches off or
divides the cell into two. In plants, cells do not pinch off. Instead, a new cell wall, called cell
plate, forms between the two nuclei.
Mitosis is important for growth and development. It is also responsible in regeneration
and repair of worn-out and damage tissues.

Meiosis
Humans have 46 chromosomes. This is our diploid number (2N). Diploid means the
nucleus of our body cells contains two sets of homologous chromosomes. We inherited half of
these chromosomes from our father and the other half from our mother 2 (23). Homologous
chromosomes mean that they both carry the genes controlling the same traits. The exception is
our reproductive cells- the egg and the sperm, collectively called gametes.
Each egg or sperm has a single set of chromosomes composed of 22 autosomes and one
pair of sex chromosomes, which may either be X or Y. Our gametes, therefore, are haploid cells
(N) since they carry a single set of chromosomes.
During sexual reproduction, the haploid sperm cell unites with the haploid egg cell to
form a fertilized egg or zygote, which is diploid. The zygote will grow and develop into a
multicellular adult by mitosis.
Haploid gametes are produced by the process of meiosis, another type of cell division
that takes place in the ovaries and testes of animals including man. Like mitosis, meiosis begins
with an interphase and later undergoes all the different stages of cell division that we have
discussed. However, in meiotic cell division, the parent cell divides two consecutive times called
meiosis I and meiosis II. Figure 3 summarize the difference between mitosis and meiosis.

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 Figure 3. Comparison between Mitosis and Meiosis

The major distinction between mitosis and meiosis occurs during the metaphase stage. In
mitosis, the double-stranded chromosomes line up individually along the spindle, but in
metaphase of meiosis I the homologous chromosomes pair and intertwine in the process called
synapsis. So that instead of the 46 chromosomes aligning at the cell equator, 23 of the
homologous chromosomes pair with the other 23. Each pair of homologous chromosomes is
composed of four chromatids (tetrad).

Figure 4. (A) Metaphase of Mitosis (B) Metaphase of Meiosis

Meiosis I results in the formation of two independent cells. One daughter cell contains
the maternal homologous pair and the other daughter cell contains the paternal homologous pair.
Both cells formed by meiosis I are still double stranded and contain a haploid amount of DNA.
When the two haploid daughter cells undergo another brief interphase, no chromosome
duplication takes place.

After the brief interphase, both haploid daughter cells divide for the second time (meiosis II)
passing through all the stages: Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, and Telophase. The difference of
meiosis II with mitosis is in the beginning parent cells. In meiosis II, the parent cells are haploid.
On the other hand, the beginning parent cell in mitosis is diploid. In meiosis II, each cell gives
rise to two daughter cells, so that all in all, the are four haploid daughter cells.

Thus, in meiosis, the daughter cells produced contain one-half of the chromosomes the
parent cell has.

As the homologous chromosomes intertwine during synapsis, a process called crossing

over of chromosomes often happens (Figure 5). In crossing over, the chromatids undergo genetic
re-assortment by exchanging segments. This phenomenon somewhat changes the genetic
information of one member of the chromatids, thus making it different from its homologous pair.

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 Figure 5. The crossing-over of chromosomes

Crossing-over rearranges the genetic information coded in the sister chromatids. Such
rearrangement increases the genetic variability of the daughter cell, and this is one important
feature of sexual reproduction.

Significance of Meiosis

All living things have diploid number of chromosomes in the absence of meiosis; its
number would continually increase. Meiosis, therefore, ensures that the chromosome number of
organisms stays constant generation after generation. Not only that, meiosis also ensures that
each daughter cell receives a copy of each kind of chromosomes, thus each daughter cell would
receive each kind of genes. The phenomenon of crossing over and the independent assortment of
chromosomes that happen during fertilization ensure that the chromosomes are distributed to the
daughter cells in various combinations bringing about tremendous variations in the
characteristics of the organisms. These variations in characteristics would allow the organism to
better adapt to the changing environment.

LEARNING TASKS:

Learning Task 1: Mitosis VS Meiosis

Direction: Fill up the table below which summarizes the difference between mitosis and meiosis

Comparison Mitosis Meiosis

No. of parent cell

No. of divisions

No. of daughter cell produced

No. of chromosomes in parent

No. of chromosomes in
daughter cells at the end of
process
Location of process in
organism
Importance

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Learning Task 2: Sentence Completion

Direction: Fill in the missing words to complete the sentence below. Choose the words from the
box.

Cell division haploid anaphase S cell cycle

chromatin Interphase cell plate G1 G2
cytokinesis Meiosis II Crossing-over kinetochore karyokinesis
Diploid metaphase cleavage furrow Meiosis Synapsis
Prophase Mitosis Meiosis I telophase Variation

1. The cell cycle has two phases: the ______________ and _____________phase.
2. _________ is a cell division that occurs in body cells while _________ takes place in the
ovaries and testes.
3. Interphase is divided into three sub phases namely _______, ________, and _______.
4. During mitosis, two things happen. First, the nucleus divides called ___________; second, the
cytoplasm divides called _____________.
5. During metaphase, the double -stranded chromosomes called __________ align themselves at
the equator of the cell and each one is attached to the spindle by a structure in the centromere
called ___________.
6. Meiosis involves two cell divisions. ___________ is known as reduction stage since the
number of chromosomes is reduced into half while ___________ undergoes the same process
with mitosis.
7. ____________is important for the normal segregation of chromosomes during meiosis and it
is accounted for genetic ___________, due to the exchange of genetic material during the
process.
8. Mitosis produces somatic, _________ cells while meiosis produces sex cells that are _______.
9. Cytokinesis in animal cell involves the formation of ______________ while in plant cell, a
_________is formed between the two nuclei.
10. The nuclear membrane disintegrates in __________ but starts to form in ___________.

Reflection:

3 Things I learned today...

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2 Things I found interesting today...

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1 Question I still have...

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