Essential cell processes

Membrane processes
• The absorption of nutrients or excretion of waste may occur with or without the expenditure
of energy by the cell
• Absorptive or excretory processes that require energy are considered active, whereas those
that do not require energy are passive.
• Passive Transport (No ATP Needed)
1. Diffusion
2. Facilitated Diffusion
3. Osmosis (Tonicity)
4. Filtration
• Active Transport (ATP Needed)
1. Sodium/Potassium pump
2. Endocytosis
3. Exocytosis

Diffusion
Movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration
•Various factors determine whether a molecule may pass through the cell membrane by passive
diffusion:
1. Molecular size
2. Lipid solubility
3. Molecular charge
Facilitated Diffusion
• Movement of molecules through the cell membrane with the assistance of an integral protein
or carrier protein located in the bilayer
• Requires no energy from the cell.
Osmosis
• Passive diffusion of water through a semipermeable membrane into a solution where the
water concentration is lower.
• The force of water moving from one side of the membrane to the other is called the osmotic
pressure.
• Osmosis occurs in the opposite direction of diffusion.
# Unlike diffusion, the water, not solute, is moving
# Osmosis requires a selective membrane, whereas diffusion does not.

Mitosis
The tissues of the body grow, particularly when the animal is young, and are able to repair
themselves when damaged. This is achieved by the process of mitosis in which the somatic cells
of the body make identical copies of themselves. The cells replicate by dividing into two – a
process called binary fission. However, before they can do this, they must first make a copy of
all the hereditary or genetic information that the new cell will need in order to function
normally. This information is carried in the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of the chromosomes
within the nucleus of the parent cell. The normal number of chromosomes is described as the
diploid number and before cell division takes place the chromosomes are duplicated.
Mitosis can be divided into four active stages, followed by a ‘resting’ stage (called interphase),
during which the new daughter cells grow and prepare for the next division. Interphase is not
actually a resting stage because it is during this stage that the DNA replicates in preparation for
the next mitosis. The centrioles have also replicated by the start of the new mitotic division. The
four active stages of mitosis are:
1. Prophase – the nuclear membrane breaks down and the chromosomes contract and become
shorter, fatter and more distinct. The chromatids are held together at a region called the
centromere. The centrioles are now found at the opposite poles or ends of the cell and spindle
fibres start to form. These are ‘threads’ passing from the centriole at one pole to the centriole
at the other pole.
2. Metaphase – the chromosomes line up in the middle of the cell (known as the equator) and
the chromatids draw apart at the centromere.
3. Anaphase – the chromosomes attach to the spindle fibres and as these contract it moves the
chromatids towards the opposite poles of the cell.
4. Telophase – the chromatids will be the chromosomes of the daughter cells. The spindle fibres
break down and the nuclear membrane reforms. The cell starts to constrict across the middle
and continues until it is divided into two. Each of the new daughter cells is genetically identical
to the original parent cell, and both contain the full set of chromosomes, known as the diploid
number. The chromosomes then unravel and the cell returns to interphase.
Mitosis results in the production of two identical daughter cells, each of which is identical to the
parent cell and contains the diploid number of chromosomes.

Meiosis
This is the process by which the germ cells divide within the ovary of the female and the testis
of the male. Meiosis results in the production of ova or sperm containing half the normal
number of chromosomes (the haploid number). Meiosis must occur before fertilization, when a
sperm penetrates the ovum and the two nuclei fuse. If those two nuclei had the diploid number
of chromosomes, then the nucleus of the resulting gamete would have twice the normal
number and abnormalities would develop.
The resting cell is in interphase before meiosis begins. The eight stages are as follows:
1. Prophase – this takes longer than prophase in mitosis. The homologous (identical)
chromosomes lie side by side and duplicate; each pair is joined at the centromere.
These chromosomes may become entangled and pieces of one chromosome may become
attached to another – this process is known as ‘crossing over’ and may influence the
characteristics of the offspring.
2. Metaphase I – the homologous pairs of chromosomes come to lie along the line of the
equator of the cell and the fibrous spindle starts to form.
3. Anaphase I – the pairs separate and the chromatids migrate along the spindle fibres towards
the poles of the cell.
4. Telophase I – the cytoplasm begins to divide but the nuclear membrane does not reform. In
some cells, the cytoplasm does not divide completely and a dumb-bell shaped cell is seen – this
is known as a syncytium. Telophase I is the first meiotic division.
5. Prophase II – this may be transitory as there is no need to replicate the chromosomes.
6. Metaphase II – the chromosomes arrange themselves along the equator and the spindle
fibres appear.
7. Anaphase II – the chromatids pull apart and migrate towards the poles of the cells.
8. Telophase II – the cytoplasm begins to divide; the nuclear membrane reforms and four
identical daughter cells are formed. Telophase II is the second meiotic division.
Meiosis results in the production of four identical daughter cells, each of which is non-identical
to the parent cell and contains the haploid number of chromosomes.

Mutations
Errors in DNA replication
Genes cannot normally be altered and will pass unchanged from generation to generation.
The only reason that they may or may not be expressed in the phenotype is because they are
dominant or recessive when mixed with the genes from another germ cell (i.e., after division by
meiosis followed by fertilization).
Occasionally a genetic change or mutation does occur but this is usually a random chance
mutation or the result of chemical change or damage (e.g., by radiation).
These changes will then pass into the next generation.
Mutations may result in a harmful condition that could kill the affected individual (e.g.,
development of cancer cells), and then the gene will die out on the death of the affected
individual.
However, it might produce a characteristic that gives the animal an advantage that could
enhance its chances of survival, such as a change of coat colour, which might provide
camouflage).
The affected animal would then reproduce and pass its beneficial gene on to the next
generation.
• Mutagen: anything that causes genetic mutation
Viruses, ionizing radiation, and certain chemicals