Answer the following review questions

1. How does one cell reproduce itself?

2. How many pairs of chromosomes are found in a) a

sperm cell? b) a muscle cell?

3. Give 2 examples of sex cells. Which is smaller of the

two?

4. What is the name of the process which produces

gametes?

5. What is the name of the process that produces cells

with halF the chromosome of a normal body cell?

6. From which organ of the body are egg cells produced?

7. Explain why gametes only need 23 chromosomes in

their nucleus.
Topic #7.1: July 24-27, 2018

THE CELL CYCLE

Cell Cycle & Cell Division
Checkpoints
Overview: The Key Roles of
Cell Division
The ability of organisms to produce
more of their own kind best
distinguishes living things from
nonliving matter

The continuity of life is based on the

reproduction of cells, or cell division
Overview: The Key Roles of
Cell Division
In unicellular organisms, division of one cell
reproduces the entire organism

Multicellular organisms depend on cell division for

Development from a fertilized cell
Growth
Repair

Cell division is an integral part of the cell cycle,

the life of a cell from formation to its own
division
Figure 12.2
100 µm (a) Reproduction

200 µm
(b) Growth and
development

20 µm
(c) Tissue renewal
 Most cell division results in
genetically identical daughter cells

Most cell division results in daughter

cells with identical genetic
information, DNA

The exception is meiosis, a special

type of division that can produce
sperm and egg cells
Cellular Organization of the
Genetic Material
All the DNA in a cell constitutes the cell’s
genome

A genome can consist of a single DNA

molecule (common in prokaryotic cells) or a
number of DNA molecules (common in
eukaryotic cells)

DNA molecules in a cell are packaged into

chromosomes
Cellular Organization of the
Genetic Material
Eukaryotic chromosomes consist of chromatin, a
complex of DNA and protein that condenses
during cell division

Every eukaryotic species has a characteristic

number of chromosomes in each cell nucleus

Somatic cells (non-reproductive cells) have two

sets of chromosomes

Gametes (reproductive cells: sperm and eggs) have

half as many chromosomes as somatic cells
 Distribution of Chromosomes
During Eukaryotic Cell Division
In preparation for cell division, DNA is
replicated and the chromosomes
condense

Each duplicated chromosome has two

sister chromatids (joined copies of the
original chromosome), which separate
during cell division

The centromere is the narrow “waist” of

the duplicated chromosome, where the
two chromatids are most closely attached
Figure 12.4

Sister
chromatids

Centromere 0.5 µm
 Distribution of Chromosomes
During Eukaryotic Cell Division

During cell division, the two sister

chromatids of each duplicated
chromosome separate and
move into two nuclei

Once separate, the chromatids

are called chromosomes
Figure 12.5-3
Chromosomal
Chromosomes DNA molecules
1 Centromere

Chromosome
arm
Chromosome duplication
(including DNA replication)
and condensation
2

Sister
chromatids
Separation of sister
chromatids into
two chromosomes
3
The Phases of the Cell Cycle
I. Interphase: no cell division occurs
1. G1 - growth 1: the cell creates organelles
and begins metabolism*
2. S - synthesis: DNA replication happens,
chromosomes are copied
3. G2 - growth 2: cell grows in preparation
for cell division
II. M - Mitotic phase / Mitosis

*G0: cells are alive and metabolically active,

but do not divide (e.g. heart muscle, eyes,
and brain)
The Cell Cycle Control System
The Cell Cycle control system is
driven by built-in clock that can
be adjusted by external stimuli
(i.e., chemical messages)

Checkpoint - a critical point in

the Cell Cycle where ‘stop’ and
‘go-ahead’ signals can regulate
the cell cycle
Figure 12.15
G1 checkpoint

Control
system S
G1

M G2

M checkpoint
G2 checkpoint
 The G1 Checkpoint - the
Restriction Point
For many cells, the G1 checkpoint
seems to be the most important

The G1 checkpoint ensures that

the cell is large enough to divide
and that enough nutrients are
available to support the resulting
daughter cells
 The G1 Checkpoint - the
Restriction Point
If a cell receives a ‘go-ahead’ signal at
the G1 checkpoint, it will usually
continue with the Cell Cycle

If the cell does not receive the ‘go-

ahead’ signal, it will exit the cycle,
switching into a nondividing state
called the G0 phase
Figure 12.16

G0
G1 checkpoint

G1 G1

(a) Cell receives a go-ahead (b) Cell does not receive a

signal. go-ahead signal.
 The G2 Checkpoint

Ensures that DNA

replication in S phase
has been successfully
completed
The Metaphase Checkpoint

Ensures that all of the

chromosomes are
attached to the mitotic
spindle by a kinetochore
The Cycle Clock. Cyclins and
Cyclin-Dependent Kinases
Two types of regulatory proteins are involved in cell
cycle control: cyclins and cyclin-dependent
kinases (CDKs)

CDKs activity fluctuates during the cell cycle

because it is controlled by cyclins, so named
because their concentrations vary with the cell
cycle

MPF (maturation-promoting factor) is a cyclin-

CDK complex that triggers a cell’s passage past
the G2 checkpoint into the M phase
 Cyclin-Dependent Kinases
(CdK’s)
Kinases - a protein which activates or
deactivates another protein by
phosphorylating them

Kinases give the go-ahead signals at G1

and G2 checkpoints

The kinases that drive these checkpoints

must themselves be activated
Cyclins - Activators of Kinases
Cyclin - the activating molecule for
kinases

A protein that derives its name from

its cyclically fluctuating
concentration in the cell

Cyclins accumulate during the G1,

S, and G2 phases of the Cell Cycle
Figure 12.17
M G1 S G2 M G1 S G2 M G1
MPF activity
Cyclin
concentration

Time
(a) Fluctuation of MPF activity and cyclin concentration
during the cell cycle

S
G

Cdk
M
Degraded
2
G

cyclin G2 Cdk
checkpoint
Cyclin is
degraded
Cyclin
MPF

(b) Molecular mechanisms that help regulate the cell cycle

Maturation-Promoting Factors
(MPF’s)
MPF complexes - aggregations of
CDK and cyclin which initiate
mitosis

Formed by the G2 checkpoint when

enough cyclin is available

MPF functions by phosphorylating

key proteins in the mitotic sequence
Maturation-Promoting Factors
(MPF’s)
Later in mitosis, MPF switches itself off
by initiating a process which leads to
the destruction of cyclin.

CDK, the non cyclin part of MPF,

persists as an inactive form until it
associates with new cyclin molecules
synthesized during the interphase of
the next round of the Cell Cycle
Figure 12.17
M G1 S G2 M G1 S G2 M G1
MPF activity
Cyclin
concentration

Time
(a) Fluctuation of MPF activity and cyclin concentration
during the cell cycle

S
G

Cdk
M
Degraded
2
G

cyclin G2 Cdk
checkpoint
Cyclin is
degraded
Cyclin
MPF

(b) Molecular mechanisms that help regulate the cell cycle

Figure 12.19

Anchorage dependence

Density-dependent inhibition

Density-dependent inhibition

20 µm 20 µm
(a) Normal mammalian cells (b) Cancer cells
Figure 12.18

1 A sample of human Scalpels

connective tissue is
cut up into small
pieces.
Petri
dish
2 Enzymes digest
the extracellular
matrix, resulting in
a suspension of
free fibroblasts.
4 PDGF is added 10 µm
3 Cells are transferred to to half the
culture vessels. vessels.

Without PDGF With PDGF

PDGF: platelet-derived growth factor

Loss of Cell Cycle Controls in Cancer
Cancer cells do not respond normally to the
body’s control mechanisms

Cancer cells may not need growth factors to

grow and divide
They may make their own growth factor
They may convey a growth factor’s signal
without the presence of the growth factor
They may have an abnormal cell cycle
control system
Loss of Cell Cyle Controls in Cancer Cells
A normal cell is converted to a cancerous cell by a
process called transformation

Cancer cells that are not eliminated by the immune

system form tumors, masses of abnormal cells
within otherwise normal tissue

If abnormal cells remain only at the original site, the

lump is called a benign tumor

Malignant tumors invade surrounding tissues and

can metastasize, exporting cancer cells to other
parts of the body, where they may form additional
tumors