Chapter 3

Every organism is made up of cells. Every organism begins life with a single
cell. multiplication of cells by division is a normal and very important feature of
living organisms.
The number of cells increases through cell division for the purpose of growth
and reproduction.

There are three important cell division processes in living organisms. They are:

Cell
Division

Amitosis Mitosis Meiosis

In this process of cell division, the true or centripetal cell divides into two
daughter cells in a continuous process.
In mitosis the nucleus divides almost equally once. Each of the nuclei
chromosomes also divide once. Cytoplasm also divides only once. Hence
mitosis
During cell division, the mother cell and the daughter cell have the same
number of chromosomes, i.e. the amount of DNA.
Not only does the amount remain the same, but an almost exact copy of the
mother cell's DNA is found in the offspring.
It is also called as equal division. This division occurs in somatic cells of
organisms with a true nucleus.
Animals and plants grow in length and breadth by increasing the number of
cells as a result of division.
Dividing tissue in animal cells and growing parts of plants, such as stems, root
tips, rhizomes and in embryonic roots, developing leaves, buds, etc., division
takes place by the process of mitosis. of lower plants and animals such division
also occurs during asexual reproduction.

In this division karyokinesis i.e. division of nucleus takes place first and
cytokinesis
i.e. division of cytoplasm takes place later.
Before division begins, some preparatory work takes place in the cell nucleus.
This state is called the interphase stage.
The process of division of nucleus in mitosis is divided into five phases, the
phases are: prophase, pro-metaphase, metaphase, anaphase and
telophase.
(a) Prophase
i. This is the first stage of mitosis.
ii. At this stage the nucleus of the cell enlarges in size and the water from the
chromosomes starts to decrease.
iii. As a result, the chromosomes gradually shrink and become thicker and
shorter.
iv. At this stage each chromosome divides longitudinally without the centromere
to form two chromatids.
v. Because their number cannot be counted.
Chromosomes cannot be counted as they are coiled

(b) Pro-metaphase
i. At the very beginning of this stage, a two-pole spindle apparatus (spindle
apparatus) is formed in the plant cell with the combination of several structural
proteins.
ii. The space between the two poles of the spindle is called the equator.
iii. Spindle fibers made of cytoskeletal microtubules extend from one pole to
the other, they are called spindle fibers.
iv. At this stage the centromere of the chromosome is attached to certain fibers
of the spindle apparatus.
These systems are called traction fibers. As these fibers are attached to the
chromosomes, they are also called chromosomal systems.
v. The chromosomes tend to be arranged in the equatorial region at this time.
vi. The nuclear membrane and nucleolus of the cell nucleus continue to
disappear.
vii. In animal cells, apart from the formation of the spindle axis, the two pre-
divided centrioles are located at the two poles, and rays radiate from both sides
of the centrioles. It is called aster-ray.

(c) Metaphase
i. At the beginning of this stage, all chromosomes are located in the equatorial
region (between the two poles) of the spindle apparatus.
ii. The centromere of each chromosome is located in the equatorial region and
the two arms are positioned towards the poles.
iii. At this stage the chromosomes are most thick and short.
iv. The attraction of the two chromatids of each chromosome decreases and
repulsion begins.
V. At the end of phase A, centromere division begins.
vi. There is complete disappearance of the nuclear membrane and nucleolus.
(d) Anaphase
i. The centromere of each chromosome splits, resulting in two separate
chromatids.
ii. In this case, each chromatid is called an aberrant chromosome and contains
one centromere.
iii. Aberrant chromosomes tend to move from the equator to the opposite poles.
That is, half of the chromosomes move towards one pole and the other half
towards the other pole.
iv. In the poleward movement of daughter chromosomes, the centromere leads
and the arms follow.
v. Chromosomes are shaped like V, L, J or I according to the position of the
centromere. They are called metacentric submetacentric, acrocentric or
telocentric respectively.
vi. Towards the end of the anaphase stage, the redundant chromosomes are
positioned at the poles of the spindle apparatus and the length of the
chromosomes increases.
(e) Telophase
It is the last stage of mitosis. Here the events of prophase occur in reverse
order.
i. Chromosomes tend to condense and become narrower and longer. Finally
they intertwine to form the nuclear reticulum.
ii. Nucleolus reappears.
iii. The nuclear membrane re-forms around the nuclear reticulum, resulting in
the formation of two aberrant nuclei at the two poles.
iv. The tendon structure collapses and the fibers gradually disappear.
v. At the end of the telophase stage, fragments of endoplasmic reticulum
accumulate at the equator and later fuse to form the cell plate.
vi. Cytoplasmic organelles are homogenized. As a result, two daughter cells are
created.
vii. In animals, along the equatorial region of the spindle apparatus, the cell
membrane intrudes inwards like holes.
viii. These pits gradually narrow from all sides and merge together, thus dividing
the cell into two parts.
 Due to cell division in the process of mitosis, the volume and quantity
balance between nucleus and cytoplasm of each cell is maintained. This
results in the physical growth of multicellular organisms.
 All multicellular organisms begin life from a single cell called a zygote.
This single cell develops into a complete organism by repeatedly dividing
by mitosis to produce numerous cells.
 As the number and quality of chromosomes in the progeny cells
produced in mitosis are the same, the organism can grow in an orderly
manner.
 Reproduce by the process of mitosis, mitosis results in organelle
reproduction and mitosis plays an important role in the multiplication of
gametes.
 Mitosis is essential to repair wounds in the body by creating new cells at
the site of the wound.
 As mitosis results in the production of similar cells, the qualitative
characteristics of organisms are maintained.
We are all familiar with the words tumor, cancer. They are the result of
abnormal cell division.
Mitosis is the process of cell division from one to two, two to four thus
increasing the number of cells remains but the process of cell division is
controlled. If this control is lost for any reason
Abnormal cell division continues. This results in the formation of tumors and
malignant tumors are cancers.
Cancer cells are the result of this uncontrolled abnormal cell division. Studies
have shown that different
types of pathogens, chemicals or radiation help to create cancer cells.
Thousands of genes have been identified as
contributing to the development of cancer cells.
Two genes of human papillomavirus, E6 and E7, make proteins that displace
protein
molecules that regulate cell division. As a result, the control of cell division is
lost and cervical tumors are formed.
Sometimes these two genes fuse with host cell genes and stop the function of
protein molecules that control cell growth. Cancer cells, or cancer, are created.
There are many types of cancer and all of them are more or less fatal diseases.
Liver, lung, brain, breast, skin, colon and uterus, i.e. almost all organs of the
body can develop cancer.
In one cycle of meiosis, the nucleus divides twice. For the first time, the number
of chromosomes in the nucleus is halved. The two nuclei of the mother cell that
are found in this division, each divides into two cells a second time. This time,
however, the number and amount of chromosomes remain the same.
So all in all, the end result is that meiosis produces four daughter cells from
one mother cell, each containing half the number of chromosomes of the
mother cell (and therefore about half the amount of DNA).
So another name for meiosis is reductional division.
In mitosis cell division, the daughter cells have the same number of
chromosomes as the parent cell.
Mitosis Cell division is essential for growth and asexual reproduction. Sexual
reproduction requires the union of male and female
reproductive cells. If the chromosome number of the germ cells remains the
same as the body cell, then the chromosome
number in the zygote cell will be twice that of the body cell of the organism.
A cell having half the number of chromosomes is called haploid (n). When two
haploid cells fuse, the condition is called diploid (2n). That is, because meiosis is
cell division, the characteristics of each species can be passed down through
generations.

Meiosis mainly occurs in the reproductive mother cell during the formation of
the germ cells or gametes of the organism. Meiosis occurs in the anthers and
ovules of flowering plants and in the ovules and spermatozoa of higher animals.
This type of division occurs in the zygote when haploid molecules are produced
from the diploid mother cells of mosses and ferns.
A cell divides twice in succession during meiosis.
The first division is called the first meiotic division or meiosis-1 and
The second division is called the second meiotic division or meiosis-2.
 During the first division, the number of chromosomes in the daughter cell
becomes half of the number of chromosomes in the mother cell.
 The second division is similar to mitosis, i.e. there is no change in
chromosome number.
Apart from maintaining the equality of chromosomes or genetic material,
maintaining genetic diversity is an important contribution of meiosis.
All sexually reproducing organisms undergo the same genetic variation through
meiosis.
Meiosis increases the chances of survival of the species by increasing the
genetic diversity of an organism.
Meiosis division has evolved and found its place in the living world because of
its special advantages in the survival of organisms.