describe cell cycle and cell cycle control system for downloading the presentation , more presentations , infographics and blogs visit :
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The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that take place in a cell leading to duplication of its DNA (DNA replication) and division of cytoplasm and organelles to produce two daughter cells.
The study of the cell cycle focuses on mechanisms that regulate the timing and frequency of DNA duplication and cell division. As a biological concept, the cell cycle is defined as the period between successive divisions of a cell. During this period, the contents of the cell must be accurately replicated.
The cell cycle is regulated by cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases.
How long is one cell cycle?
Depends. Eg. Skin cells every 24 hours. Some bacteria every 2 hours. Some cells every 3 months. Cancer cells very short. Nerve cells never.
Programmed cell death:
Each cell type will only do so many cell cycles then die. (Apoptosis)
The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that take place in a cell leading to duplication of its DNA (DNA replication) and division of cytoplasm and organelles to produce two daughter cells.
The study of the cell cycle focuses on mechanisms that regulate the timing and frequency of DNA duplication and cell division. As a biological concept, the cell cycle is defined as the period between successive divisions of a cell. During this period, the contents of the cell must be accurately replicated.
The cell cycle is regulated by cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases.
How long is one cell cycle?
Depends. Eg. Skin cells every 24 hours. Some bacteria every 2 hours. Some cells every 3 months. Cancer cells very short. Nerve cells never.
Programmed cell death:
Each cell type will only do so many cell cycles then die. (Apoptosis)
A lenda do Uirapuru é uma estória que faz parte do folclore da região norte do Brasil, mais especificamente da Amazônia. É uma lenda indígena sobre um pássaro mágico, o uirapuru.
WHAT IS CELL?
WHAT IS CELL DIVISION OR CELL CYCLE?
WHY DO CELL DIVIDE?
HISTORY
CELL CYCLE
INTERPHASE
M-PHASE
MOLECULAR EVENT DURING CELL CYCLE AND CELL REGULATION
TYPES OF CELL DIVISION
IMPORTANCE OF CELL DIVISION
ABNORMALTIES OF CELL CYCLE
REFRENCES
Multicellular organisms develop from a single cell known as zygote by the process of mitosis. Asexual reproduction in some organisms like amoeba and vegetative reproduction in plants takes place by mitosis. This type of cell division involves many steps and it does not alter the genetic material.
Infer the significance of cell division.
Differentiate a DNA molecule, a chromosome, and a chromatid.
Characterize the phases of the cell cycle and their control points.
Describe the major events associated with stages of mitosis.
Explain the process of cytokinesis.
Learning Objectives
Describe the role of apoptosis in the life cycle of a cell.
Relate cancer as a result of the malfunction of the cell during the cell cycle.
Cell cycle and cell division are fundamental processes governing the growth, development, and reproduction of all living organisms. Understanding these processes is crucial in the field of biology as they play a pivotal role in shaping life at both the cellular and organismal levels.
For more information, visit-www.vavaclasses.com
THE IMPORTANCE OF MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE SAMPLE RETURN.Sérgio Sacani
The return of a sample of near-surface atmosphere from Mars would facilitate answers to several first-order science questions surrounding the formation and evolution of the planet. One of the important aspects of terrestrial planet formation in general is the role that primary atmospheres played in influencing the chemistry and structure of the planets and their antecedents. Studies of the martian atmosphere can be used to investigate the role of a primary atmosphere in its history. Atmosphere samples would also inform our understanding of the near-surface chemistry of the planet, and ultimately the prospects for life. High-precision isotopic analyses of constituent gases are needed to address these questions, requiring that the analyses are made on returned samples rather than in situ.
Introduction:
RNA interference (RNAi) or Post-Transcriptional Gene Silencing (PTGS) is an important biological process for modulating eukaryotic gene expression.
It is highly conserved process of posttranscriptional gene silencing by which double stranded RNA (dsRNA) causes sequence-specific degradation of mRNA sequences.
dsRNA-induced gene silencing (RNAi) is reported in a wide range of eukaryotes ranging from worms, insects, mammals and plants.
This process mediates resistance to both endogenous parasitic and exogenous pathogenic nucleic acids, and regulates the expression of protein-coding genes.
What are small ncRNAs?
micro RNA (miRNA)
short interfering RNA (siRNA)
Properties of small non-coding RNA:
Involved in silencing mRNA transcripts.
Called “small” because they are usually only about 21-24 nucleotides long.
Synthesized by first cutting up longer precursor sequences (like the 61nt one that Lee discovered).
Silence an mRNA by base pairing with some sequence on the mRNA.
Discovery of siRNA?
The first small RNA:
In 1993 Rosalind Lee (Victor Ambros lab) was studying a non- coding gene in C. elegans, lin-4, that was involved in silencing of another gene, lin-14, at the appropriate time in the
development of the worm C. elegans.
Two small transcripts of lin-4 (22nt and 61nt) were found to be complementary to a sequence in the 3' UTR of lin-14.
Because lin-4 encoded no protein, she deduced that it must be these transcripts that are causing the silencing by RNA-RNA interactions.
Types of RNAi ( non coding RNA)
MiRNA
Length (23-25 nt)
Trans acting
Binds with target MRNA in mismatch
Translation inhibition
Si RNA
Length 21 nt.
Cis acting
Bind with target Mrna in perfect complementary sequence
Piwi-RNA
Length ; 25 to 36 nt.
Expressed in Germ Cells
Regulates trnasposomes activity
MECHANISM OF RNAI:
First the double-stranded RNA teams up with a protein complex named Dicer, which cuts the long RNA into short pieces.
Then another protein complex called RISC (RNA-induced silencing complex) discards one of the two RNA strands.
The RISC-docked, single-stranded RNA then pairs with the homologous mRNA and destroys it.
THE RISC COMPLEX:
RISC is large(>500kD) RNA multi- protein Binding complex which triggers MRNA degradation in response to MRNA
Unwinding of double stranded Si RNA by ATP independent Helicase
Active component of RISC is Ago proteins( ENDONUCLEASE) which cleave target MRNA.
DICER: endonuclease (RNase Family III)
Argonaute: Central Component of the RNA-Induced Silencing Complex (RISC)
One strand of the dsRNA produced by Dicer is retained in the RISC complex in association with Argonaute
ARGONAUTE PROTEIN :
1.PAZ(PIWI/Argonaute/ Zwille)- Recognition of target MRNA
2.PIWI (p-element induced wimpy Testis)- breaks Phosphodiester bond of mRNA.)RNAse H activity.
MiRNA:
The Double-stranded RNAs are naturally produced in eukaryotic cells during development, and they have a key role in regulating gene expression .
Multi-source connectivity as the driver of solar wind variability in the heli...Sérgio Sacani
The ambient solar wind that flls the heliosphere originates from multiple
sources in the solar corona and is highly structured. It is often described
as high-speed, relatively homogeneous, plasma streams from coronal
holes and slow-speed, highly variable, streams whose source regions are
under debate. A key goal of ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter mission is to identify
solar wind sources and understand what drives the complexity seen in the
heliosphere. By combining magnetic feld modelling and spectroscopic
techniques with high-resolution observations and measurements, we show
that the solar wind variability detected in situ by Solar Orbiter in March
2022 is driven by spatio-temporal changes in the magnetic connectivity to
multiple sources in the solar atmosphere. The magnetic feld footpoints
connected to the spacecraft moved from the boundaries of a coronal hole
to one active region (12961) and then across to another region (12957). This
is refected in the in situ measurements, which show the transition from fast
to highly Alfvénic then to slow solar wind that is disrupted by the arrival of
a coronal mass ejection. Our results describe solar wind variability at 0.5 au
but are applicable to near-Earth observatories.
Cancer cell metabolism: special Reference to Lactate PathwayAADYARAJPANDEY1
Normal Cell Metabolism:
Cellular respiration describes the series of steps that cells use to break down sugar and other chemicals to get the energy we need to function.
Energy is stored in the bonds of glucose and when glucose is broken down, much of that energy is released.
Cell utilize energy in the form of ATP.
The first step of respiration is called glycolysis. In a series of steps, glycolysis breaks glucose into two smaller molecules - a chemical called pyruvate. A small amount of ATP is formed during this process.
Most healthy cells continue the breakdown in a second process, called the Kreb's cycle. The Kreb's cycle allows cells to “burn” the pyruvates made in glycolysis to get more ATP.
The last step in the breakdown of glucose is called oxidative phosphorylation (Ox-Phos).
It takes place in specialized cell structures called mitochondria. This process produces a large amount of ATP. Importantly, cells need oxygen to complete oxidative phosphorylation.
If a cell completes only glycolysis, only 2 molecules of ATP are made per glucose. However, if the cell completes the entire respiration process (glycolysis - Kreb's - oxidative phosphorylation), about 36 molecules of ATP are created, giving it much more energy to use.
IN CANCER CELL:
Unlike healthy cells that "burn" the entire molecule of sugar to capture a large amount of energy as ATP, cancer cells are wasteful.
Cancer cells only partially break down sugar molecules. They overuse the first step of respiration, glycolysis. They frequently do not complete the second step, oxidative phosphorylation.
This results in only 2 molecules of ATP per each glucose molecule instead of the 36 or so ATPs healthy cells gain. As a result, cancer cells need to use a lot more sugar molecules to get enough energy to survive.
Unlike healthy cells that "burn" the entire molecule of sugar to capture a large amount of energy as ATP, cancer cells are wasteful.
Cancer cells only partially break down sugar molecules. They overuse the first step of respiration, glycolysis. They frequently do not complete the second step, oxidative phosphorylation.
This results in only 2 molecules of ATP per each glucose molecule instead of the 36 or so ATPs healthy cells gain. As a result, cancer cells need to use a lot more sugar molecules to get enough energy to survive.
introduction to WARBERG PHENOMENA:
WARBURG EFFECT Usually, cancer cells are highly glycolytic (glucose addiction) and take up more glucose than do normal cells from outside.
Otto Heinrich Warburg (; 8 October 1883 – 1 August 1970) In 1931 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for his "discovery of the nature and mode of action of the respiratory enzyme.
WARNBURG EFFECT : cancer cells under aerobic (well-oxygenated) conditions to metabolize glucose to lactate (aerobic glycolysis) is known as the Warburg effect. Warburg made the observation that tumor slices consume glucose and secrete lactate at a higher rate than normal tissues.
Comparing Evolved Extractive Text Summary Scores of Bidirectional Encoder Rep...University of Maribor
Slides from:
11th International Conference on Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering (IcETRAN), Niš, 3-6 June 2024
Track: Artificial Intelligence
https://www.etran.rs/2024/en/home-english/
Richard's entangled aventures in wonderlandRichard Gill
Since the loophole-free Bell experiments of 2020 and the Nobel prizes in physics of 2022, critics of Bell's work have retreated to the fortress of super-determinism. Now, super-determinism is a derogatory word - it just means "determinism". Palmer, Hance and Hossenfelder argue that quantum mechanics and determinism are not incompatible, using a sophisticated mathematical construction based on a subtle thinning of allowed states and measurements in quantum mechanics, such that what is left appears to make Bell's argument fail, without altering the empirical predictions of quantum mechanics. I think however that it is a smoke screen, and the slogan "lost in math" comes to my mind. I will discuss some other recent disproofs of Bell's theorem using the language of causality based on causal graphs. Causal thinking is also central to law and justice. I will mention surprising connections to my work on serial killer nurse cases, in particular the Dutch case of Lucia de Berk and the current UK case of Lucy Letby.
Richard's aventures in two entangled wonderlandsRichard Gill
Since the loophole-free Bell experiments of 2020 and the Nobel prizes in physics of 2022, critics of Bell's work have retreated to the fortress of super-determinism. Now, super-determinism is a derogatory word - it just means "determinism". Palmer, Hance and Hossenfelder argue that quantum mechanics and determinism are not incompatible, using a sophisticated mathematical construction based on a subtle thinning of allowed states and measurements in quantum mechanics, such that what is left appears to make Bell's argument fail, without altering the empirical predictions of quantum mechanics. I think however that it is a smoke screen, and the slogan "lost in math" comes to my mind. I will discuss some other recent disproofs of Bell's theorem using the language of causality based on causal graphs. Causal thinking is also central to law and justice. I will mention surprising connections to my work on serial killer nurse cases, in particular the Dutch case of Lucia de Berk and the current UK case of Lucy Letby.
Deep Behavioral Phenotyping in Systems Neuroscience for Functional Atlasing a...Ana Luísa Pinho
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) provides means to characterize brain activations in response to behavior. However, cognitive neuroscience has been limited to group-level effects referring to the performance of specific tasks. To obtain the functional profile of elementary cognitive mechanisms, the combination of brain responses to many tasks is required. Yet, to date, both structural atlases and parcellation-based activations do not fully account for cognitive function and still present several limitations. Further, they do not adapt overall to individual characteristics. In this talk, I will give an account of deep-behavioral phenotyping strategies, namely data-driven methods in large task-fMRI datasets, to optimize functional brain-data collection and improve inference of effects-of-interest related to mental processes. Key to this approach is the employment of fast multi-functional paradigms rich on features that can be well parametrized and, consequently, facilitate the creation of psycho-physiological constructs to be modelled with imaging data. Particular emphasis will be given to music stimuli when studying high-order cognitive mechanisms, due to their ecological nature and quality to enable complex behavior compounded by discrete entities. I will also discuss how deep-behavioral phenotyping and individualized models applied to neuroimaging data can better account for the subject-specific organization of domain-general cognitive systems in the human brain. Finally, the accumulation of functional brain signatures brings the possibility to clarify relationships among tasks and create a univocal link between brain systems and mental functions through: (1) the development of ontologies proposing an organization of cognitive processes; and (2) brain-network taxonomies describing functional specialization. To this end, tools to improve commensurability in cognitive science are necessary, such as public repositories, ontology-based platforms and automated meta-analysis tools. I will thus discuss some brain-atlasing resources currently under development, and their applicability in cognitive as well as clinical neuroscience.
This presentation explores a brief idea about the structural and functional attributes of nucleotides, the structure and function of genetic materials along with the impact of UV rays and pH upon them.
Nucleic Acid-its structural and functional complexity.
Cell cycle and mitosis
1. CELL CYCLE
“Where a cell arises, there must be a previous cell, just as animals can only arise
from animals and plants from plants.” A cell reproduces by carrying out an orderly
sequence of events in which it duplicates its contents and then divides in two.
This cycle of duplication and division, known as the cell cycle, is the essential
mechanism by which all living things reproduce. The details of the cell cycle vary
fromorganismto organismand at different times in an individual organism’s life.
Certain features of the cell cycle, however, are universal, as they allow every cell
to perform the fundamental task of copying and passing on its genetic
information to the next generation of cells.
The most basic function of the cell cycle is to duplicate accurately the vast
amount of DNA in the chromosomes and then to segregate the DNA into
genetically identical daughter cells such that each cell receives a complete copy
of the entire genome . In most cases, a cell also duplicates its other
macromolecules and organelles and doubles in size before it divides; otherwise,
each time a cell split it would get smaller and smaller.
Thus, to maintain their size, dividing cells coordinate their growth with their
division. The duration of the cell cycle varies greatly from one cell type to another.
The Eukaryotic Cell Cycle Usually Includes Four Phases
Seen in a microscope, the two most dramatic events in the cell cycle are when
the nucleus divides, a process called mitosis, and when the cell later splits in two,
a process called cytokinesis. These two processes together constitute the M
phase of the cycle. In a typical mammalian cell, the whole of M phase takes about
an hour, which is only a small fraction of the total cell-cycle time .
The period between one M phase and the next is called interphase. Viewed with
a microscope, it appears, deceptively, as an uneventful interlude during which
the cell simply increases in size. Interphase, however, is a very busy time for a
proliferating cell, and it encompasses the remaining three phases of the cell cycle.
2. During S phase (S = synthesis), the cell replicates its DNA. S phase is flanked by
two “gap” phases—called G1 and G2—during which the cell continues to grow
(Figure 1). During these gap phases, the cell monitors both its internal state and
external environment.
This monitoring ensures that conditions are suitable for reproduction and that
preparations are complete before the cell commits to the major upheavals of S
phase (which follows G1) and mitosis (following G2). At particular points in G1 and
G2, the cell decides whether to proceed to the next phase or pause to allow more
time to prepare.
During all of interphase, a cell generally continues to transcribe genes, synthesize
proteins, and grow in mass. Together with S phase, G1 and G2 provide the time
needed for the cell to grow and duplicate its cytoplasmic organelles. If interphase
lasted only long enough for DNA replication, the cell would not have time to
double its mass before it divided and would consequently shrink with each
division. Indeed, in some special circumstances thatis justwhat happens.
figure1 The eukaryotic cell cycle usually occurs in four phases.
3. A Cell-Cycle Control System Triggers the Major Processes
of the Cell Cycle
To ensure that they replicate all their DNA and organelles, and divide in an
orderly manner, eukaryotic cells possess a complex network of regulatory
proteins known as the cell-cycle control system. This system guarantees that the
events of the cell cycle—DNA replication, mitosis, and so on—occur in a set
sequence and that each process has been completed beforethe next one begins.
If DNA synthesis is slowed down or stalled, mitosis and cell division must also be
delayed. Similarly, if DNA is damaged, the cycle must arrest in G1, S, or G2 so that
the cell can repair the damage, either before DNA replication is started or
completed or before the cell enters M phase. The cell-cycle control system
achieves all of this by employing molecular brakes, sometimes called checkpoints,
to pause the cycle at certain transition points. In this way, the control system
does not trigger the next step in the cycle unless the cell is properly prepared.
The cell-cycle control system regulates progression through the cell cycle at three
main transition points (Figure 1). At the transition from G1 to S phase, the control
system confirms that the environment is favorable for proliferation before
committing to DNA replication. Cell proliferation in animals requires both
sufficient nutrients and specific signal molecules in the extracellular environment;
if these extracellular conditions are unfavorable, cells can delay progress through
G1 and may even enter a specialized resting state known as G0 (G zero).
At the transition from G2 to M phase, the control system confirms that the DNA
is undamaged and fully replicated, ensuring that the cell does not enter mitosis
unless its DNA is intact. Finally, during mitosis, the cell-cycle control machinery
ensures that the duplicated chromosomes are properly attached to a cytoskeletal
machine, called the mitotic spindle, before the spindle pulls the chromosomes
apart and segregates them into the two daughter cells.
In animals, the transition from G1 to S phase is especially important as a point in
the cell cycle where the control system is regulated. Signals from other cells
4. stimulate cell proliferation when more cells are needed—and block it when they
are not. The cell-cycle control system therefore plays a central part in the
regulation of cell numbers in the tissues of the body; if the control system
malfunctions such that cell division is excessive, cancer can result.
G1 PHASE
In addition to being a bustling period of metabolic activity, cell growth, and repair,
G1 is an important point of decision-making for the cell. Based on intracellular
signals that provide information about the size of the cell and extracellular signals
reflecting the environment, the cell-cycle control machinery can either hold the
cell transiently in G1 (or in a more prolonged nonproliferative state, G0), or allow
it to prepare for entry into the S phase of another cell cycle. Once past this critical
G1-to-S transition, a cell usually continues all the way through the rest of the cell
cycle quickly—typically within 12–24 hours in mammals.
S PHASE
Before a cell divides, it must replicate its DNA. this replication must occur with
extreme accuracy to minimize the risk of mutations in the next cell generation. Of
equal importance, every nucleotide in the genome must be copied once—and
only once—to prevent the damaging effects of gene amplification.Once a cell has
successfully replicated its DNA in S phase, and progressed through G2, it is ready
to enter M phase. During this relatively brief period, the cell will divide its nucleus
(mitosis) and then its cytoplasm(cytokinesis; seeFigure 1).
M PHASE
Although M phase (mitosis plus cytokinesis) occurs over a relatively short amount
of time—about one hour in a mammalian cell that divides once a day, or even
once a year—it is by far the most dramatic phase of the cell cycle. During this
brief period, the cell reorganizes virtually all of its components and distributes
them equally into the two daughter cells. The earlier phases of the cell cycle, in
effect, serveto set the stage for the drama of M phase.
5. The central problem for a cell in M phase is to accurately segregate the
chromosomes that were duplicated in the preceding S phase, so that each new
daughter cell receives an identical copy of the genome. With minor variations, all
eukaryotes solve this problem in a similar way: they assemble two specialized
cytoskeletal machines, one that pulls the duplicated chromosomes apart (during
mitosis) and another that divides the cytoplasminto two halves (cytokinesis).
MITOSIS
Before nuclear division, or mitosis, begins, each chromosome has been
duplicated and consists of two identical sister chromatids, held together along
their length by cohesin proteins . During mitosis, the cohesin proteins are cleaved,
the sister chromatids split apart, and the resulting daughter chromosomes are
pulled to opposite poles of the cell by the mitotic spindle.
The Mitotic Spindle Starts to Assemble in Prophase
The mitotic spindle begins to form in prophase. This assembly of the highly
dynamic spindle depends on the remarkable properties of microtubules.
microtubules continuously polymerize and depolymerize by the addition and loss
of their tubulin subunits, and individual filaments alternate between growing and
shrinking—a process called dynamic instability . At the start of mitosis, the
stability of microtubules decreases.As a result, during prophase, rapidly growing
and shrinking microtubules extend in all directions from the two centrosomes,
exploring the interior of the cell.
Some of the microtubules growing from one centrosome interact with the
microtubules from the other centrosome . This interaction stabilizes the
microtubules, preventing them from depolymerizing, and it joins the two sets of
microtubules together to form the basic framework of the mitotic spindle, with its
characteristic bipolar shape . The two centrosomes that give rise to these
microtubules are now called spindle poles, and the interacting microtubules are
called interpolar microtubules .
6. The assembly of the spindle is driven, in part, by motor proteins associated with
the interpolar microtubules that help to cross-link the two sets of microtubules.
In the next stage of mitosis, the duplicated chromosomes attach to the spindle
microtubules in such a way that, when the sister chromatids separate, they will be
drawn to opposite poles of the cell.figure 2
figure2 THE PRINCIPAL STAGES OF MPHASEINAN ANIMAL CELL
7. Chromosomes Attach to the Mitotic Spindle at
Prometaphase
Prometaphase starts abruptly with the disassembly of the nuclear envelope,
which breaks up into small membrane vesicles. This process is triggered by the
phosphorylation and consequent disassembly of nuclear pore proteins and the
intermediate filament proteins of the nuclear lamina, the network of fibrous
proteins that underlies and stabilizes the nuclear envelope. The spindle
microtubules, which have been lying in wait outside the nucleus, now gain access
to the duplicated chromosomes and capturethem (figure 2).
The spindle microtubules grab hold of the chromosomes at kinetochores, protein
complexes that assemble on the centromere of each condensed chromosome
during late prophase (Figure 3). Each duplicated chromosome has two
kinetochores—one on each sister chromatid—which face in opposite directions.
Kinetochores recognize the special DNA sequence present at the centromere: if
this sequence is altered, kinetochores fail to assemble and, consequently, the
chromosomes failto segregateproperly during mitosis.
Chromosomes are more than passive passengers in the process of spindle
assembly: they can themselves stabilize and organize microtubules into
functional mitotic spindles. In cells without centrosomes—including all plant cells
and some animal cell types—the chromosomes nucleate microtubule assembly,
and motor proteins then move and arrange the microtubules and chromosomes
into a bipolar spindle. Even in animal cells that normally have centrosomes, a
bipolar spindle can still be formed in this way if the centrosomes are removed . In
cells with chromosomes, motor proteins, and centrosomes work together to form
the mitotic spindle.
8. figure3Kinetochores attach chromosomes to the mitotic spindle.
Chromosomes Line Up at the Spindle Equator at
Metaphase
During prometaphase, the duplicated chromosomes, now attached to the mitotic
spindle ,Eventually, they align at the equator of the spindle, halfway between the
two spindle poles, thereby forming the metaphase plate. This event defines the
beginning of metaphase( see figure 2).
Although the forces that act to bring the chromosomes to the equator are not
completely understood, both the continual growth and shrinkage of the
microtubules and the action of microtubule motor proteins are required. A
continuous balanced addition and loss of tubulin subunits is also required to
maintain the metaphase spindle: when tubulin addition to the ends of
microtubules is blocked by the drug colchicine, tubulin loss continues until the
metaphase spindle disappears.
The chromosomes gathered at the equator of the metaphase spindle oscillate
back and forth, continually adjusting their positions, indicating that the tug-of-
war between the microtubules attached to opposite poles of the spindle
continues to operate after the chromosomes areall aligned.
9. If one of the pair of kinetochore attachments is artificially severed with a laser
beam during metaphase, the entire duplicated chromosome immediately moves
toward the pole to which it remains attached. Similarly, if the attachment
between sister chromatids is cut, the two chromosomes separate and move
toward opposite poles. These experiments show that the duplicated
chromosomes are not simply deposited at the metaphase plate. They are
suspended there under tension. In anaphase, that tension will pull the sister
chromatids apart.
Proteolysis Triggers Sister-Chromatid Separation at
Anaphase
Anaphase begins abruptly with the breakage of the cohesin linkages that hold
sister chromatids together . This release allows each chromatid—now considered
a chromosome—to be pulled to the spindle pole to which it is attached . This
movement segregates the two identical sets of chromosomes to opposite ends of
the spindle (seefigure 2).
Once the sister chromatids separate, the resulting chromosomes are pulled to
the spindle pole to which they are attached. They all move at the same speed,
which is typically about 1 μm per minute. The movement is the consequence of
two independent processes thatdepend on different parts of the mitotic spindle.
The two processes are called anaphase A and anaphase B, and they occur more
or less simultaneously. In anaphase A, the kinetochore microtubules shorten and
the attached chromosomes move poleward. In anaphase B, the spindle poles
themselves move apart, further segregating the two sets of chromosomes (Figure
4).
10. figure4Two processes segregate daughter chromosomes atanaphase.
The Nuclear Envelope Re-forms at Telophase
By the end of anaphase, the daughter chromosomes have separated into two
equal groups, one at each pole of the spindle. During telophase, the final stage of
mitosis, the mitotic spindle disassembles, and a nuclear envelope reassembles
around each group of chromosomes to form the two daughter nuclei . Vesicles of
nuclear membrane first cluster around individual chromosomes and then fuse to
re-formthe nuclear envelope (seefigure 2).
During this process, the nuclear pore proteins and nuclear lamins that were
phosphorylated during prometaphase are now dephosphorylated, which allows
them to reassemble and the nuclear envelope and lamina to re-form(Figure5).
11. Once the nuclear envelope has re-formed, the pores pump in nuclear proteins,
the nucleus expands, and the condensed chromosomes decondense into their
interphase state. As a consequence of this decondensation, gene transcription is
able to resume. A new nucleus has been created, and mitosis is complete. All that
remains is for the cell to complete its division into two separatedaughter cells.
figure 5The nuclear envelope breaks down and re-forms during mitosis.
CYTOKINESIS
12. Cytokinesis, the process by which the cytoplasm is cleaved in two, completes M
phase (see figure 2 ) .It usually begins in anaphase but is not completed until the
two daughter nuclei have formed in telophase. Whereas mitosis depends on a
transient microtubule-based structure, the mitotic spindle, cytokinesis in animal
cells depends on a transient structure based on actin and myosin filaments, the
contractile ring . Both the plane of cleavage and the timing of cytokinesis,
however, aredetermined by the mitotic spindle.
The Mitotic Spindle Determines the Plane of Cytoplasmic
Cleavage
The first visible sign of cytokinesis in animal cells is a puckering and furrowing of
the plasma membrane that occurs during anaphase.The furrowing invariably
occurs in a plane that runs perpendicular to the long axis of the mitotic spindle.
This positioning ensures that the cleavage furrow cuts between the two groups of
segregated chromosomes, so that each daughter cell receives an identical and
complete set of chromosomes. If the mitotic spindle is deliberately displaced
(using a fine glass needle) as soon as the furrow appears, the furrow disappears
and a new one develops at a site corresponding to the new spindle location and
orientation. (figure6)
Once the furrowing process is well under way, however, cleavage proceeds even
if the mitotic spindle is artificially sucked out of the cell or depolymerized using
the drug colchicine. How does the mitotic spindle dictate the position of the
cleavage furrow? The mechanism is still uncertain, but it appears that, during
anaphase, the overlapping interpolar microtubules that form the central spindle
recruit and activate proteins that signal to the cell cortex to initiate the assembly
of the contractile ring at a position midway between the spindle poles. Because
these signals originate in the anaphase spindle, this mechanism also contributes
to the timing of cytokinesis in late mitosis.
When the mitotic spindle is located centrally in the cell—the usual situation in
most dividing cells—the two daughter cells produced will be of equal size. During
embryonic development, however, there are some instances in which the
13. dividing cell moves its mitotic spindle to an asymmetrical position, and,
consequently, the furrow creates two daughter cells that differ in size. In most of
these asymmetric divisions, the daughters also differ in the molecules they inherit,
and they usually develop into differentcell types.
figure 6 The contractile ring divides the cell in two