Lesson 1

Cell Division

Every living thing undergoes reproduction. The nutrients taken by an individual will provide energy for
metabolic processes, for growth and development as well as reproduction. The cellular level of
reproduction, in the form of cell division, provides the backdrop for the organismal level of reproduction.

One of the characteristics of an organism is to reproduce. It is not only limited to produce another
organism, however, it also happens within the smallest unit of its body. For instance, when your skin
gets scraped, after several days, your wound heals. Your cells will regenerate a new and exactly the same
skin cell.

In this module, we will know the differences between the two types of cell division (mitosis and meiosis)
and the significance of meiosis in maintaining the chromosome number.

Below is an illustration of the epidermis. When your skin is accidentally cut, it undergoes a process to
repair itself and this is called mitosis.

What is It

When you grow, the cell size in your body does not change. If a cell is too big, it may affect its
activities like the flow of materials inside it. Instead of growing bigger, the cells divide and
multiply.
The cell is the smallest unit of a living thing. It has several organelles like the nucleus and
mitochondria. The nucleus is the control center of all the activities of the cell including the
growth and development of plants and animals.
The nucleus has a nuclear membrane like the cell membrane. This allows the material to pass
through in and out of the nucleus. When you observe a nucleus under a high-powered
microscope, you can see threads called chromatin. During cell division, the chromatin forms a
rod-like structure known as a chromosome. Chromosomes are responsible for growth. They
contain the blueprint of life and they pass the traits of the cell to a
new cell. For example, the chromosomes of a skin cell will exactly
reproduce the same skin cell.
Mitosis
This type of cell division produces two identical cells with the same
number of chromosomes. Mitosis is divided into four stages.
1. Prophase
During this stage, in the early prophase, the chromatin in the nucleus
begins to shorten and thicken which is called chromatid and finally
forming rod-like structures known as chromosomes. Each
chromosome has two chromatids connected by a centromere. The
centriole pair in the animal cell begins to move away from one
another. Then a spindle forms in the cytoplasm that connects between
the two opposite ends of the cell. In the late prophase, the nuclear Interphase
membrane starts to break.
2. Metaphase
In this stage, the spindle is fully developed and the chromosomes
begin to attach themselves to it. The spindle is connected to the
centromere which is the center of two chromatids. The nuclear
membrane disappears completely.
3. Anaphase Prophase

In this stage, the sister chromatid begins to separate and moves

4. Telophase
At this stage which will start to uncoil and become Metaphase indistinct
under the light microscope. A new nuclear membrane forms
around them while the spindle fibers disappear. There is Telophase also
cytokinesis or the division of the cytoplasm to form two separate
daughter cells immediately after mitosis.
Anaphase

Meiosis
This is a special type of cell division where the cell undergoes two rounds of cell division to
produce four daughter cells, each with half the chromosome number as the original parent cell
and with a unique set of genetic material as a result of the exchange of chromosome segments
during the process of crossing over.
The first round of meiotic division, also known as meiosis I, consists
of four stages: prophase I, metaphase I, anaphase I, and telophase I. Prophase
of meiosis I, unlike its counterpart in mitosis, is more elaborate and should be
understood well in order to grasp the mechanisms of heredity.

1. Prophase I
Meiosis starts with this stage and includes the following
substages:
In leptotene, each chromosome is made up of two long threads of
sister chromatids as a result of replication during the S phase of the cell cycle.
 In zygotene, the chromosomes begin to pair off. Pairs of
chromosomes are called homologous chromosomes, and this
pairing process is exact.
In pachytene, the chromosomes contract due to repeated
coiling. Crossing over takes place during this stage where a
segment of a sister chromatid of one chromosome is exchanged
with the same
segment of the sister chromatid of the homologous chromosome through the formation of a
cross-linkage of the segments called a chiasma. After crossing over, the sister chromatids of
each chromosome may no longer be identical with each other based on the genetic material they
contain.
In diplotene, the chromosomes begin to uncoil.
In diakinesis, the paired chromosomes disperse in the nucleus.

2. Metaphase I
At this stage, the paired chromosomes arrange themselves along with the
equatorial plate.

3. Anaphase I
At this stage, the s pindle fibers form and attach to the
centromeres of the chromosomes. The homologous chromosomes
separate from each other completely and start their movement toward
the poles of the cells as they are pulled by the spindle fibers. As the
centromere of each chromosome does not divide, the sister chromatids
remain together.
4. Telophase I
At this stage, when the chromosomes reach their
respective poles. Cytokinesis follows and two daughter cells
are formed. Each ce ll now has only half the chromosome
number because only one chromosome from each pai r goes
to the daughter cel l which is called the haploid condition .
Note that each chromosome still has two sister
chromatids; it is , therefore , necessary for the cells to
undergo another round of division.
The second meiotic division, also known as meiosis
II, is mitotic in nature and consists of the following stages:
prophase II, metaphase II, anaphase II , and telophase
II; these stages are identical to the mitotic
stages. The results are four cells, two from
each daughter cell from meiosis, with one half
the diploid chromosome number and with
only chromatid for each
Directions: Answer the following questions regarding cell division. Write your answers on a
separate sheet of paper/in your notebook.

1. What are the similarities and differences between mitosis and meiosis?
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2. You started your life as a single cell when an egg cell and a sperm cell unite. How come your
body now contains billions of cells?
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3. Why is it important to maintain a complete number of chromosomes in meiosis?

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