Chapter 13

Meiosis and
Sexual Life
Cycles

Lecture Presentations by
Nicole Tunbridge and
© 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Variations on a Theme

 Offspring resemble their parents more than they

do unrelated individuals

 Heredity ‫ التوارث‬is the transmission ‫انتقال‬

of
traits‫ الصفات‬from one generation to the next
 Variation ‫التباين‬ is demonstrated by the
differences in appearance that offspring ‫النسل‬
show from parents‫ اآلباء‬and siblings ‫األخوة واألخوات‬
 Genetics‫علم الوراثة‬ is the scientific study of
heredity and variation
Figure 13.1

© 2017 Pearson Education, Inc. A sperm fertilizing an egg

Concept 13.1: Offspring acquire genes from
parents by inheriting chromosomes
 In a literal sense, children do not inherit
particular physical traits from their parents

 It is genes that are actually inherited

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Inheritance of Genes

 Genes are the units of heredity and are made

up of segments of DNA
 Genes are passed to the next generation via
reproductive cells called gametes (sperm and
eggs)
 Most DNA is packaged into chromosomes
 Humans have 46 chromosomes in the nuclei of
their somatic cells, all cells of the body
except gametes and their precursors
 A gene’s specific position along a chromosome
is called its locus
Comparison of Asexual and
Sexual Reproduction
0.5 mm
 In asexual reproduction, a single
individual passes all of its genes
to its offspring without the fusion
of gametes
 A clone is a group of genetically
identical individuals from the
Parent
same parent
Bud
(a) Hydra
 In sexual reproduction, two
parents give rise to offspring that
have unique combinations of
genes inherited from the two
parents
Concept 13.2: Fertilization and meiosis
alternate in sexual life cycles

 A life cycle is the generation-to-generation

sequence of stages in the reproductive history of
an organism

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Sets of Chromosomes in Human Cells

 Human somatic cells have 23 pairs of

chromosomes
 A karyotype is an ordered display of the pairs of
chromosomes from a cell
 The two chromosomes in each pair are called
homologous chromosomes, or homologs, one
coming from the mother and the other from the
father
 Chromosomes in a homologous pair are the
same length and shape and carry genes
controlling the same inherited characters
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Figure 13.3

Application Technique
Pair of homologous
duplicated chromosomes

Centromeres
5 µm

Sister
chromatids
Metaphase
chromosome

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 The sex chromosomes, which determine
the sex of the individual, are called X and Y

 Human females have a homologous pair of X

chromosomes (XX)
 Human males have one X and one Y
chromosome

 The remaining 22 pairs of chromosomes are

called autosomes

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 Each pair of homologous chromosomes includes
one chromosome from each parent
 The 46 chromosomes in a human somatic cell
are two sets of 23: one from the mother and one
from the father
 A diploid cell (2n) has two sets of
chromosomes
 For humans, the diploid number is 46 (2n = 46)
 Remember: In a cell in which DNA synthesis has
occurred, each chromosome is replicated
 Each replicated chromosome consists of two
identical sister chromatids
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Figure 13.4

Maternal set of chromosomes (n = 3)

2n = 6
Paternal set of chromosomes (n = 3)

Sister chromatids
of one duplicated
chromosome
Centromere

Two nonsister Pair of homologous

chromatids in chromosomes
a homologous pair (one from each set)

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 A gamete (sperm or egg) contains a single set of
chromosomes and is thus a haploid cell (n)
 For humans, the haploid number is 23 (n = 23)
 Each set of 23 consists of 22 autosomes and one
sex chromosome

 In an unfertilized egg (ovum), the sex

chromosome is X
 In a sperm cell, the sex chromosome may be
either X or Y
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Behavior of Chromosome Sets in the Human
Life Cycle

 Fertilization is the union of gametes (the

sperm and the egg)
 The fertilized egg is called a zygote and has
one set of chromosomes from each parent
 The zygote produces somatic cells by mitosis
and develops into an adult

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  At sexual maturity, the ovaries and
testes produce haploid gametes
 Gametes are the only types of human cells
produced by meiosis, rather than mitosis

 Meiosis results in one set of chromosomes in

each gamete

 Fertilization and meiosis alternate in sexual life

cycles to maintain chromosome number

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Figure 13.5
Haploid gametes (n = 23)
Egg (n)

Sperm (n)

MEIOSIS FERTILIZATION

Testis
Ovary
Diploid
zygote
(2n = 46)

Mitosis and
development

Multicellular diploid Haploid (n)

adults (2n = 46) Diploid (2n)
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Concept 13.3: Meiosis reduces the number of
chromosome sets from diploid to haploid
 Like in mitosis, replication of chromosomes
happens before meiosis
 Meiosis takes place in two consecutive cell
divisions, called meiosis I and meiosis II

 The two cell divisions result in four daughter

cells, rather than the two daughter cells in
mitosis

 Each daughter cell has only half as many

chromosomes as the parent cell
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The Stages of Meiosis

 Chromosomes duplicate before meiosis

 The resulting sister chromatids are closely
associated along their lengths
 This is called sister chromatid cohesion

 The chromatids are sorted into four haploid

daughter cells

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Figure 13.7
Interphase
Pair of
homologous
chromosomes
in diploid
parent cell

Pair of duplicated Chromosomes

homologous duplicate
chromosomes

Sister Diploid cell with

chromatids duplicated
chromosomes
Meiosis I
1
Homologous
chromosomes
separate
Haploid cells with
duplicated chromosomes
Meiosis II
2 Sister chromatids
separate

Haploid cells with unduplicated chromosomes

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 Division in meiosis I occurs in four phases:
 prophase I
 metaphase I
 anaphase I
 telophase I and cytokinesis

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Prophase I
 In early prophase I, each chromosome pairs with
its homolog and crossing over occurs
 X-shaped regions called chiasmata are sites
of crossovers

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Metaphase I
 In metaphase I, pairs of homologs line up at the
metaphase plate, with one chromosome facing
each pole
 Microtubules from one pole are attached to the
kinetochore of one chromosome of each pair
 Microtubules from the other pole are attached to
the kinetochore of the other chromosome

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 Anaphase I
 In anaphase I, pairs of homologous
chromosomes separate

 One chromosome of each pair moves toward

opposite poles, guided by the spindle apparatus

 Sister chromatids remain attached at the

centromere and move as one unit toward the
pole
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Telophase I and Cytokinesis
 In the beginning of telophase I, each half of the
cell has a haploid set of chromosomes; each
chromosome still consists of two sister
chromatids
 Cytokinesis usually occurs simultaneously,
forming two haploid daughter cells
 In animal cells, a cleavage furrow forms; in plant
cells, a cell plate forms
 No chromosome replication occurs between the
end of meiosis I and the beginning of meiosis II
because the chromosomes are already replicated
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Figure 13.8a

MEIOSIS I: Separates homologous chromosomes

Prophase I Metaphase I Anaphase I Telophase I

and Cytokinesis

Centrosome Sister
(with Kinetochore chromatids
centriole (at centromere) remain
Sister pair) attached
chroma- Chiasmata
tids Spindle Kinetochore
micro- microtubules
tubules

Cleavage
Homologous furrow
Pair of Fragments chromosomes
homo- of nuclear separate
envelope Metaphase
logous plate
chromo-
somes Centromere
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 Division in meiosis II also occurs in four phases:
 prophase II
 metaphase II
 anaphase II
 telophase II and cytokinesis

 Meiosis II is very similar to mitosis

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Prophase II

 In prophase II, a spindle apparatus forms

 In late prophase II, chromosomes (each still
composed of two chromatids) move toward the
metaphase plate

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Metaphase II
 In metaphase II, the sister chromatids are
arranged at the metaphase plate

 Because of crossing over in meiosis I, the

two sister chromatids of each
chromosome are no longer genetically
identical

 The kinetochores of sister chromatids attach to

microtubules extending from opposite poles
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Anaphase II

 In anaphase II, the sister chromatids separate

 The sister chromatids of each chromosome now

move as two newly individual chromosomes
toward opposite poles

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Telophase II and Cytokinesis
 In telophase II, the chromosomes arrive at
opposite poles
 Nuclei form, and the chromosomes begin
decondensing
 Cytokinesis separates the cytoplasm
 At the end of meiosis, there are four daughter
cells, each with a haploid set of unreplicated
chromosomes
 Each daughter cell is genetically distinct from
the others and from the parent cell
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Figure 13.8b

MEIOSIS II: Separates sister chromatids

Prophase II Metaphase II Anaphase II Telophase II

and Cytokinesis

Sister chromatids
separate Haploid daughter
cells forming

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Crossing Over and Synapsis During Prophase I

 After interphase, the sister chromatids are held

together by proteins called cohesins
 The nonsister chromatids are broken at precisely
corresponding positions
 A zipper-like structure called the synaptonemal
complex holds the homologs together tightly
 During synapsis, DNA breaks are repaired,
joining DNA from one nonsister chromatid to the
corresponding segment of another

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Figure 13.9

Pair of homologous Sister Synaptonemal

chromosomes: chromatids complex
DNA Centromere DNA Sister
Paternal chromatids
breaks breaks sister
Cohesins
chromatids

Maternal
sister Crossovers
1 chromatids 3

Synaptonemal
Chiasmata
complex forming

2 4

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 A Comparison of Mitosis and Meiosis
 Mitosis conserves the number of chromosome sets,
producing cells that are genetically identical to the
parent cell
 Meiosis reduces the number of chromosomes sets
from two (diploid) to one (haploid), producing cells that
differ genetically from each other and from the parent
cell
 Three events are unique to meiosis, and all three occur
in meiosis I
 Synapsis and crossing over in prophase I:
Homologous chromosomes physically connect and
exchange genetic information
 Homologous pairs at the metaphase plate

Figure 13.10a

MITOSIS MEIOSIS
Parent cell Chiasma MEIOSIS I

Prophase Prophase I
Chromosome Chromosome
Duplicated Pair of
duplication duplication
chromosome 2n = 6 duplicated
homologs
Individual Pairs of
Metaphase homologous Metaphase I
chromosomes
line up. chromosomes
line up.
Anaphase Anaphase I
Sister chromatids Homologs
Telophase separate. Telophase I
separate.

Daughter
Sister cells of
meiosis I
chromatids MEIOSIS II
2n 2n separate.
Daughter cells n n n n
of mitosis Daughter cells of meiosis II

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Figure 13.10b

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