Understanding Meiosis - AP Biology

Mitosis and meiosis share many procedural similarities, however, it is important to remember that mitosis makes identical cells while meiosis allows genetic variability between cells.

Meiosis takes place in sex cells, which are capable of creating millions of different variations of offspring. Mitosis takes place in normal cells involved in growth and regeneration within a single, uniform organism.

Meiosis includes two divisions, resulting in two pairs of haploid cells, while mitosis only involves a single division.

Both meiotic and mitotic divisions share the same phases, though there are some differences in the activity of these phases. Mutation can, and does, occur in both mitosis and meiosis. Crossing over, however, is unique to meiosis.

Crossing over ensures genetic variability as it results in daughter cells with different genetic material than their parent cells. This occurs during meiosis I, but is not seen in mitosis or meiosis II.

Both mitosis and meiosis occur in humans. Somatic cells (body cells) divide via mitosis, while gametes (sex cells) divide via meiosis. Because of actions such as crossing over, meiosis results in a higher genetic variability than mitosis.

Prokaryotes, such as bacteria, reproduce asexually, and are incapable of meiosis.

Turner syndrome occurs when a person is missing one sex chromosome, and only has one X-chromosome. As a result, they will be female, and may suffer a variety of symptoms. This is an example of monosomy, in which a person only has one chromosome, when they should have two.

The other three choices are examples of trisomy. Klinefelter is an instance of sex-linked trisomy, with a karyotype of XXY. Down syndrome is cause by trisomy 21, and Edwards syndrome is caused by trisomy 18.

Non-disjunction occurs when sister chromatids fail to separate during meiosis, leading subsequent daughter cells to have an unequal number of chromosomes. This can result in a cell having one extra chromosome (trisomy), or missing one chromosome (monosomy).

The following shows non-disjuction occuring in metaphase II of meiosis. "X" represents a chromosome, "|" represents a cell membrane, and "\" and "/" represent chromatids. When a sperm cell fuses with the egg formed to the left of the membrane (|), it will result in trisomy. When a sperm fuses with the egg to the right of the membrane (|), it will result in monosomy.

Metaphase I: X X

Telophase I: X | X

Metaphase II: / \

Telophase II: / \ |

Meiosis allows for the creation of genetically different haploid cells from one original germ cell. Following anaphase I, homologous chromosomes are separated from one another, resulting in a halving of the genetic material (haploid). As a result, the two cells are haploid following meiosis I. The separation of genetic material in anaphase II involves the splitting of chromatids, not homologous chromosomes. This does not affect the number of chromosomes in each cell, meaning all cells remain haploid.

Parent: diploid (XX)

Meiosis I: haploid, full chromosome (X)(X)

Meiosis II: haploid, single chromatid (/)(\)(/)(\)

Note that crossing over can only occur when the cell is diploid in meiosis I, specifically during prophase I.

Reductional division of cells occurs during meiosis. This means that the number of chromosomes in the cells undergoing meiosis is reduced by half, as compared to the parental cells. The cells that arise from meiosis are genetically unique from their parental cells, since they do not retain the same genetic information.

The cells that result from meiosis are haploid, carrying only half of the normal DNA present in somatic cells.

Crossing over, or recombination, is a process that takes place in the earlier stages of meiosis and promotes genetic diversity. During recombination, genetic material is exchanged between two homologous chromosomes. The chromosomes ultimately contain the same amount of genetic material after recombination, and are properly separated during subsequent divisions.

The cleavage of the protein securin is actually what allows the sister chromatids to separate, a process that is essential to maintaining the correct number of chromosomes in each daughter cell.

Nondisjunction is the name given to the phenomenon in which separation of genetic material fails to occur. Either homologous chromosomes fail to separate properly in meiosis I, or sister chromatids fail to separate properly during meiosis II. The result of these nondisjunction events is one cell with an abnormally high number of chromosomes (for example trisomy) and one cell with an abnormally low number of chromosomes (for example monosomy).

Crossing over occurs during prophase of meiosis I (prophase I). This process requires tetrad formation, where the homologous chromosomes (with their sister chromatids) pair with each other. Following tetrad formation, the genetic material from one homologous chromosome can be exchanged with that of the other. This exchange of genetic material leads to genetic recombination and results in production of non-identical gametes. Crossing over occurs only between homologous chromosomes. Sister chromatids are situated to form a single chromosome; crossing over does not include recombination of genetic material within a single chromosome.

Remember that crossing over is not a mutation and is a completely natural process for every sexually reproducing organism.

For this question you have to carefully track the chromosomes through meiosis. A human cell in metaphase I will have formed the tetrads and would have aligned the genetic material along the metaphase plate. The sister chromatids are still attached to one another, so they only count as one chromosome per pair of chromatids. There are a total of 46 chromosomes in metaphase I, each comprised of two sister chromatids. There are 23 homologous pairs, each containing two complete chromosomes.

During telophase II, the cell is in a haploid state. The homologous pairs have been separated during anaphase I, such that each cell contains 23 complete chromosomes. Each chromosome is then broken into its chromatids, such that the total number of chromosomes represented during anaphase II is 46, with each chromatid representing a chromosome. If each of the chromosomes still had its sister chromatid, then the total number of chromosomes would be 23. Telophase II follows anaphase II. The 46 chromatids are sequestered to opposite sides of the cell, but the cell has not yet divided. A cell in telophase II is haploid, containing only one copy of each homologous chromosome, but contains two chromatids for each copy. The total number of chromosomes in a telophase II cell is thus 46. As soon as the cell completes cytokinesis, and two daughter cells are formed, they become haploid cells with 23 chromosomes each.

For this question, remember that a cell containing only one homologue is a haploid cell. Cells containing two homologous chromosomes are considered diploid.

Following the S phase and mitosis, the cells are diploid because they contain pairs of homologous chromosomes.

Following meiosis I, however, the daughter cells are haploid because they contain only one homologue. These homologues still consist of two identical sister chromatids, which will be separated following meiosis II, but the halving of genetic material during meiosis I still generates haploid daughter cells.

Remember that the law of independent assortment states that genes on different chromosomes are passed independently of one another to offspring. This phenomenon results from the random alignment of the chromosomes along the metaphase plate. This random alignment allows genes to be segregated independently, and occurs during metaphase I.

Metaphase II involves the alignment of single chromosomes along the metaphase plate for segregation of identical sister chromatids. Remember that independent assortment is only valid for genes on different chromosomes. Genes on the same chromosomes are not passed independently of one another from parent to offspring.

Independent assortment can, thus, only occur during metaphase I, since this phase involves alignment of independent, non-identical chromosomes.

During metaphase II, sister chromosomes line up at the metaphase plate, like during the metaphase of mitosis. Mitotic spindles are attached to the kinetochores during this stage. Homologous chromosomes have already been separated during anaphase I.

Meiosis I involves the separation of homologous chromosomes, while meiosis II involves the separation of sister chromatids. The G2 phase precedes meiosis I or mitosis, but does no precede meiosis II. Interkinesis is the period that separates meiosis I and meiosis II.

Meiosis I results in two daughter cells, each with only one copy of each chromosome, from a parent cell with two copies of each chromosome. The parent cell is diploid, while the daughter cells are haploid. This is known as reductional division because the daughter cell contain less genetic material than the parent cell. Meiosis II results in four daughter cells from two parent cells. Each parent contains one copy of each chromosome, and each daughter cell also contains one copy of each chromosome (although the material is stored on a single chromatid). Since both parent and daughter cells contain the same amount of genetic information, this is considered an equational division. The daughter cells of both meiosis I and meiosis II contain only one copy of each chromosome, as homologous pairs have been separated. Both meiosis products are thus considered haploid, making this the correct answer.

Reduction of ploidy implies that the cell is losing a duplicate copy of each chromosome. In meiosis I, the cell segregates homologous chromosomes into two unique daughter cells. These daughter cells now technically only contain one copy of each chromosome. The parent cell contained two copies of each chromosome (diploid), while the daughter cells contain only one copy of each chromosome (haploid). This results in the reduction of ploidy after meiosis I.

After meiosis II, each cell contains only one chromatid. This chromatid, however, contains the code for a full chromosome, meaning that each daughter cell contains the genetic material for one chromosome. There is no reduction of ploidy after meiosis II, since both parent and daughter cells carry only one copy of each chromosome.

After mitosis, each cell contains one chromatid for each homologous chromosome. As such, the cells each contain DNA for two copies of each chromosome. Since both parent and daughter cells are diploid, there is no reduction of ploidy.

Crossing over, or recombination, is a phenomenon in which small parts of homologous chromosomes move from one copy of the chromosome to the other. This process helps promote genetic diversity by providing slightly different copies of chromosomes for offspring.

Inducing genetic mutations would be a way to increase diversity, but it is not something that actually happens during meiosis. Condensation of chromosomes and separation of sister chromatids occur during both mitosis and meiosis, and do not promote genetic diversity.

In meiosis I the cell separates homologous chromosomes. In meiosis II the cell separates sister chromatids. In general, meiosis I and II are similar processes that go through the same steps (prophase, metaphase, etc.) with only a few key difference. During metaphase I, homologous chromosomes line up in tetrads. During metaphase II, chromosomes line up singularly. Crossing over can only occur during the formation of tetrads, and cannot occur during meiosis II.

In most vertebrates, sperm cells join with egg cells to form a zygote. Each cell produces a haploid complement of chromosomes in order to form the zygote. The result is a new organism with a full set of maternal chromosomes and a full set of paternal chromosomes.

When a sperm joins with an egg, only the nucleus of the sperm enters to egg to form the zygote. The nuclear envelope is then altered, allowing the paternal DNA to intermix with the maternal DNA in the zygote nucleus. The sperm does not contribute a nucleus (only genetic material), cytoplasm, or diploid copies of any chromosome.