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BIOL 1210 Lab 2 Mitosis Lab

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mannymath
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28 views

BIOL 1210 Lab 2 Mitosis Lab

Uploaded by

mannymath
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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*Take a kit

*Check your kit contents against the kit card


*Work individually
*Find a partner for next week’s lab

Lab 2 – Mitosis lab


BIOL 1210
Lab 2 – Objectives
q Prepare a slide of onion root tips to visualize
each of the stages of the cell cycle.

q Determine what percentage of time an


onion cell spends in each stage of the cell
cycle.

interphase prophase metaphase anaphase telophase


Part A –Preparation of Onion Root Tip
Cut here Root Tip!
q Take 2 onion root tips from container
q Place in watch glass and soak in 1N HCl for 10
minutes
q Place one tip on a slide and place the second
tip on another slide
q Cut 2mm from onion root tip
• slightly pointed
q Stain with Aceto-orcein
q Tap root tip with glass rod until it looks like
fine red dust and add a coverslip
Part A – Preparation of Onion Root Tip
Squash
You want to look for squared cells
q Use the slide to view different stages of mitosis that are darkly stained
and interphase under the microscope
• Search your slide on the 10x objective
• ~95% of cells will be in interphase
• When you find a cell that looks different, increase
magnification to identify and draw it

q Don’t be discouraged if you can’t find all the


phases of mitosis right away! Work with the
people around you to locate all the phases.

q You are responsible for observing ALL phases of


mitosis AND cells in interphase Ignore the long rectangular cells
(these are in interphase)
Part A – Onion Root Tip Squash

Interphase at 400x:
• Not a phase of mitosis
• The most common state to find a cell Cytoplasm
• Nuclear envelope encloses the nucleus
Cell wall
(nucleus looks round and homogenous)
• Nucleoli may be visible

nucleus
Part A – Onion Root Tip Squash
Prophase at 400x:
• Nuclear envelope disintegrates and the
nuclear content is no longer enclosed in the
nucleus
• Chromatin fibres tightly coil and condense
into discrete chromosomes
• Chromosomes look like noodles or polka
dots
• Nucleoli are not visible
Part A – Onion Root Tip Squash
Metaphase at 400x:
• Centromeres lie at the metaphase plate (at the
center of the cell)
• Sister chromatids are attached to the microtubules
coming from opposite poles of the cell
• Chromosome "tails" point outwards
Part A – Onion Root Tip Squash

Anaphase at 400x:
• Cohesin proteins are cleaved and sister
chromatids of each pair separate
• Each sister chromatid becomes a
distinct chromosome
• Daughter chromosomes move to the
opposing poles of the cell
• “Tails” point toward middle
Part A – Onion Root Tip Squash

Telophase at 400x:
• 2 daughter nuclei form (like two tight hair buns)
• Generally, a reversal of events that occurred
during prophase
• Chromosomes begin to uncoil
• Nuclear envelope reforms around them
• Cell plate begins to form between the nuclei
Part B – Prepared Longitudinal Sections
q Collect a prepared onion root tip
slide Apical meristematic zone
• Search your slide for apical
meristematic zone at 100X
magnification
• Then, search for cells undergoing
mitosis at 400X magnification

100X
Part B – Prepared Longitudinal Sections
Why can a slide of stained cells be used to estimate how much time a living cell
spends in each phase of the cell cycle?
It’s like a snapshot in time. If we assume that cells we observed started mitosis at
random times, the proportion of cells in each phase at this point in time should
be representative of the length of time spent in those phases.
How to make a Bar Graph of your Results
Make sure to include a title, axis labels, units
(where appropriate).
% of time vs Daily Activity Type
30

Example Data Set: 25

Daily Activity Type % of time


20
Schoolwork 25

% of time
TikTok 20 15

Instagram 12 10

Sleeping 28
5
Eating 12
Commuting 3 0
Schoolwork Tik Tok Instagram Sleeping Eating Commuting
Daily Activity Type
Clean-up Instructions
§ Follow the instructions for clean up on the kit card
§ Replenish contents for the next student (if required)

*Important Reminders for proper microscope clean-up:


• Lower your stage before removing any slide
• Turn your microscope off
• Put the lowest objective lens back in place
• Put dust cover back on
Key Concepts
q Make and view your own onion root
tip slide Video:

q Determine the percentage of time


the onion root cell spends in each
part of the cycle

v Tips: Root tips look red and dusty


once smashed. For finding mitotic
cells, look for cells that have a
unique nucleus before increasing the
magnification to look closer

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