Chapter 12

The Cell Cycle

Lecture Presentations by
Nicole Tunbridge and
© 2021 Pearson Education, Inc. Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Figure 12.1a

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Figure 12.1b

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CONCEPT 12.1: Most cell division results in
genetically identical daughter cells
• The ability of organisms to produce more of their
own kind is the one characteristic that distinguishes
living things from nonliving matter
• The continuity of life is based on the reproduction
of cells, or cell division

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Key Roles of Cell Division
• Cell division plays several important roles in life
• Single-celled organisms give rise to new organisms
through cell division
• Multicellular eukaryotes undergo embryonic
development through cell division
• Cell division continues to function in renewal and
repair in fully grown multicellular eukaryotes

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 • A crucial function of most cell division is the
distribution of identical genetic material to the two
daughter cells
• Cell division is remarkably accurate in passing DNA
from one generation to the next

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Figure 12.2

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Cellular Organization of the Genetic Material
• All the DNA in a cell constitutes the cell’s genome
• A genome can consist of a single DNA molecule
(common in prokaryotic cells) or a number of DNA
molecules (common in eukaryotic cells)
• DNA molecules in a cell are packaged into
chromosomes
• The DNA molecule of a chromosome carries
several hundred to a few thousand genes

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Figure 12.3

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 • Eukaryotic chromosomes consist of chromatin, a
complex of DNA and protein that condenses during
cell division
• Every eukaryotic species has a characteristic
number of chromosomes in each cell nucleus
• Somatic cells (nonreproductive cells) have two
sets of chromosomes
• Gametes (reproductive cells: sperm and eggs)
have half as many chromosomes as somatic cells

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Distribution of Chromosomes During
Eukaryotic Cell Division
• In preparation for cell division, DNA is replicated
and the chromosomes condense
• Each duplicated chromosome has two sister
chromatids (joined copies of the original
chromosome), attached along their lengths by
cohesins
• The centromere is the narrow “waist” of the
duplicated chromosome, where the two chromatids
are most closely attached

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Figure 12.4

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 • During cell division, the two sister chromatids of
each duplicated chromosome separate and move
into two nuclei
• Once separate, the chromatids are called
chromosomes

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Figure 12.5

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BioFlix® Animation: Chromosome Duplication

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 • Eukaryotic cell division consists of
– mitosis, the division of the genetic material in the
nucleus
– cytokinesis, the division of the cytoplasm
• Gametes are produced by a variation of cell
division called meiosis
• Meiosis yields nonidentical daughter cells that have
half as many chromosomes as the parent cell

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CONCEPT 12.2: The mitotic phase alternates
with interphase in the cell cycle
• In 1882, the German anatomist Walther Flemming
developed dyes to observe chromosomes during
mitosis and cytokinesis
• During the period between one cell division and the
next, many critical events occur

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Phases of the Cell Cycle
• The cell cycle consists of
– mitotic (M) phase (mitosis and cytokinesis)
– interphase (cell growth and copying of
chromosomes in preparation for cell division)

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 • Interphase (about 90% of the cell cycle) can be
divided into three phases:
– G1 phase (“first gap”)
– S phase (“synthesis”)
– G2 phase (“second gap”)
• The cell grows during all three phases, but
chromosomes are duplicated only during the
S phase

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Figure 12.6

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 • Mitosis is conventionally broken down into five
stages:
– prophase
– prometaphase
– metaphase
– anaphase
– telophase

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Figure 12.7a

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Figure 12.7b

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The Mitotic Spindle: A Closer Look
• The mitotic spindle is a structure made of
microtubules that controls chromosome movement
during mitosis
• In animal cells, assembly of spindle microtubules
begins in the centrosome, a type of microtubule-
organizing center
• The centrosome replicates during interphase,
forming two centrosomes that migrate to opposite
ends of the cell during prophase and prometaphase

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 • By the end of prometaphase, the two centrosomes
are at opposite end of the cell
• An aster (a radial array of short microtubules)
extends from each centrosome
• The spindle includes the centrosomes, the spindle
microtubules, and the asters

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 • Each sister chromatid has a kinetochore
• A kinetochore is a protein complex associated with
centromeres
• During prometaphase, some spindle microtubules
(kinetochore microtubules) attach to the
kinetochores
• At metaphase, the chromosomes are all lined up at
the metaphase plate, an imaginary plane midway
between the spindle’s two poles

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Figure 12.8

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 • In anaphase, the cohesins are cleaved by an
enzyme called separase
• Sister chromatids separate and move along the
kinetochore microtubules toward opposite ends of
the cell
• The microtubules shorten by depolymerizing at
their kinetochore ends

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 • Results of a clever experiment suggest that motor
proteins on kinetochores “walk” the chromosomes
along the microtubules during anaphase
• The depolymerization of the microtubules at the
kinetochore ends occurs after the motor proteins
have passed
• This is called the “Pac-man” mechanism

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Figure 12.9

Data from G. J. Gorbsky, P. J. Sammak, and G. G. Borisy, Chromosomes move poleward in

anaphase along stationary microtubules that coordinately disassemble from their kinetochore
ends, Journal of Cell Biology 104:9–18 (1987)

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 • Other research shows that chromosomes are
“reeled in” by motor proteins at the spindle poles
• Microtubules depolymerize after they pass by the
motor proteins at the poles
• The general consensus is that both mechanisms
are used

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 • Nonkinetochore microtubules from opposite poles
overlap and push against each other, elongating
the cell
• At the end of anaphase, duplicate groups of
chromosomes have arrived at opposite ends of the
elongated cell
• Cytokinesis begins during anaphase or telophase,
and the spindle eventually disassembles

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Cytokinesis: A Closer Look
• In animal cells, cytokinesis occurs by a process
known as cleavage
• The first sign of cleavage is the appearance of a
cleavage furrow, a shallow groove in the cell
surface near the old metaphase plate
• In plant cells, a cell plate forms during cytokinesis

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Figure 12.10

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Figure 12.11

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Binary Fission in Bacteria
• Prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) reproduce by a
type of cell division called binary fission
• In binary fission, the chromosome replicates
(beginning at the origin of replication), and the
two daughter chromosomes actively move apart
• The plasma membrane pinches inward, dividing the
cell into two
• How bacterial chromosomes move and their
location established are active areas of research

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Figure 12.12

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The Evolution of Mitosis
• Because prokaryotes evolved before eukaryotes,
mitosis probably evolved from binary fission
• Certain unicellular eukaryotes exhibit types of cell
division that seem intermediate between binary
fission and mitosis

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Figure 12.13

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CONCEPT 12.3: The eukaryotic cell cycle is
regulated by a molecular control system
• The frequency of cell division varies with the type of
cell
• These differences result from regulation at the
molecular level
• Cancer cells manage to escape the usual controls
on the cell cycle

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The Cell Cycle Control System
• The cell cycle appears to be driven by specific
signaling molecules present in the cytoplasm
• Some evidence for this hypothesis comes from
experiments in which cultured mammalian cells
at different phases of the cell cycle were fused
to form a single cell with two nuclei
• Signals in the cytoplasm of the fused cell caused
both nuclei to enter the same phase of the cell
cycle

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Figure 12.14

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 • The sequential events of the cell cycle are directed
by a distinct cell cycle control system
• The cell cycle control system is regulated by both
internal and external controls
• The clock has specific checkpoints where the cell
cycle stops until a go-ahead signal is received

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Figure 12.15

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The Cell Cycle Clock: Cyclins and Cyclin-
Dependent Kinases
• Two types of regulatory proteins are involved in cell
cycle control: cyclins and cyclin-dependent
kinases (Cdks)
• Cyclins are named for their cyclically fluctuating
concentrations in the cell
• The activity of a Cdk rises and falls with changes
in concentration of its cyclin partner
• Cdks must be attached to a cyclin to be active

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 • MPF (maturation-promoting factor) is a cyclin-Cdk
complex that triggers a cell’s passage past the G 2
checkpoint into the M phase
• Peaks of MPF activity correspond to the peaks of
cyclin concentration
• MPF acts both as a kinase and indirectly through
activating other kinases

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Figure 12.16

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Stop and Go Signs: Internal and External
Signals at the Checkpoints
• Many signals registered at checkpoints come from
cellular surveillance mechanisms within the cell
• Checkpoints also register signals from outside
the cell
• Three important checkpoints are those in the G 1,
G2, and M phases

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 • For many cells, the G1 checkpoint seems to be the
most important
• If a cell receives a go-ahead signal at the G 1
checkpoint, it will usually complete the S, G 2, and
M phases and divide
• If the cell does not receive the go-ahead signal, it
will exit the cycle, switching into a nondividing state
called the G0 phase

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Figure 12.17

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 • An example of an internal signal is that cells will not
begin anaphase until all chromosomes are properly
attached to the spindle at the metaphase plate
• This mechanism ensures that daughter cells have
the correct number of chromosomes

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 • External factors, both chemical and physical
influence cell division
• Growth factors are released by certain cells and
stimulate other cells to divide
• Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is made by
blood cell fragments called platelets
• PDGF is required for the division of cultured
fibroblasts

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Figure 12.18

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 • In density-dependent inhibition, crowded cells
will stop dividing
• Most animal cells also exhibit anchorage
dependence—to divide, they must be attached to a
substratum
• Density-dependent inhibition and anchorage
dependence check the growth of cells at an optimal
density
• Cancer cells exhibit neither type of regulation of
their division

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Figure 12.19

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Loss of Cell Cycle Controls in Cancer Cells
• Cancer cells do not heed the normal signals that
regulate the cell cycle
• They do not stop dividing when growth factors are
depleted
• Cancer cells do not need growth factors to grow
and divide:
– They may make their own growth factor
– They may convey a growth factor’s signal without
the presence of the growth factor
– They may have an abnormal cell cycle control
system

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 • Cells that acquire the ability to divide indefinitely
have undergone transformation
• Cancer cells that are not eliminated by the immune
system form tumors, masses of abnormal cells
within otherwise normal tissue
• If abnormal cells remain only at the original site, the
lump is called a benign tumor
• Most benign tumors do not cause serious problems
(depending on their location)

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 • Malignant tumors invade surrounding tissues and
can undergo metastasis, the spread of cancer
cells to other parts of the body, where they may
form additional tumors
• Localized tumors may be treated with high-energy
radiation, which damages the DNA in the cancer
cells
• The majority of cancer cells have lost the ability to
repair DNA damage

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Figure 12.20

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 • Metastatic tumors are treated with
chemotherapeutic drugs that target the cell cycle
• Side effects of chemotherapy are due to the effects
of the drugs on normal cells that divide frequently
• Researchers are producing a flood of information
about cell-signaling pathways and their relationship
to cancer
• Coupled with new molecular techniques, treatments
for cancer are becoming more “personalized” to a
particular patient’s tumor

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