Meiosis

Lesson Objectives:
Explain the importance of meiosis
in sexual reproduction
Define: gamete, zygote, diploid,
haploid
Describe the stages of meiosis
Compare and contrast mitosis
and meiosis
 A Quick Review of Mitosis :

I P M
A T
 A Conundrum…

Sexual Reproduction is problematic:

 female cell (46 chromosomes) + male cell (46
chromosomes) = baby cell (92 chromosomes)
 This is bad because a 92 chromosome baby has
VERY little chance of surviving
 How about:
 Sperm Cell (23 chromosomes) + Egg Cell (23
chromosomes) = baby cell (46 chromosomes)
 This is good, but how do you get a cell with 23
chromosomes?
 The answer is:

Meiosis
Definition: process during cell
division in which the nucleus of a cell
completes two successive divisions
that produces four (gametes), each
with a chromosome number that has
been reduced by a half.
What do diploid
and haploid mean?

Diploid (2n) - having two sets of

chromosomes (one set from each
parent in sexually reproducing species)

Haploid (n) - having only one

chromosome from each pair of
chromosomes
 Sexual Reproduction:
Sperm and egg together form a zygote

Gametes: sex cells (haploid)

Diploid
•Fertilization - fusion of the
nuclei of the egg and sperm
•Zygote - single cell formed
from fertilization
 Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction

MEIOSIS FORMS HAPLOID

CELLS

• An organism receives half of its

chromosomes from each parent.
Gametes fuse together during
fertilization.

•Meiosis is the process in which

haploid cells (gametes) are
produced in diploid organisms.
 A few more definitions:
 Somatic Cells - body cells; NOT sex cells

 Homologous Chromosomes - pairs of

chromosomes that code for the same
gene (one from mom, one from dad)
 Haploid - only one of each homologous pair
 Diploid - both of each homologous pair
Chromosomes and Cell
Reproduction
Meiosis Overview:
Start With: End With:
•One diploid cell •4 Haploid Cells (aka
daughter cells)
Meiosis occurs through two mitosis-like
divisions:
•1st division (reduction division) -
homologous chromosomes separate
•2nd division - chromatids separate
The Stages of Meiosis

Meiosis I Meiosis II
 Prophase I  Prophase II
 Metaphase I  Metaphase II
 Anaphase I  Anaphase II
 Telophase I  Telophase II
Meiosis in Pictures:
 Prophase I:
 Chromatin condenses
into chromosomes
 Spindle fibers form
 nuclear membrane &
nucleolus disappear
 Synapsis:
Homologues pair up
 Crossing-over may
occur
 Metaphase I:

 Chromosome pairs
 (i.e. tetrads) line
up at cell’s equator
 Following Law of
Independent
Assortment
Anaphase I:

 Homologous
chromosomes
(not chromatids)
separate from
each other
 Called
disjunction
 Telophase I:
 no Interphase (DNA
does not duplicate)
 Interkinesis
(centrioles double)
 nuclear membrane
forms
 Cytokinesis is
occuring
After Meiosis I we have:

 Two daughter cells

 each cell has 1/2 as many
chromosomes as the cell we began
with (but still two exact copies of
each remaining chromosome)
 Prophase II: (same as prophase
of mitosis but with n)

 Spindle fibers form

in each daughter
cell
Metaphase II:

 Chromosomes
line up at the
equator in their
respective
daughter cells
 Anaphase II:

 Centromeres divide
and two chromatids
(single-stranded
chromosomes)
separate and move
towards opposite
poles
 Telophase II:

 Both daughter cells

divide forming 4 haploid
cells
 Chromosomes
decondense into
chromatin
 Nuclear membrane and
nucleolus form again
Meiosis Overview:
Start With: End With:
•One diploid cell •4 Haploid Cells (aka
daughter cells)
Meiosis occurs through two mitosis-like
divisions:
•1st division - homologous chromosomes
separate
•Second division - chromatids separate
Meiosis in
picture again…
 Chromosomes and Cell
Reproduction

 Crossing-Over exchange
of DNA segments from
homologous chromosomes in
prophase I; source of genetic
recombination.
 Chiasma – point of contact
between non-sister chromatids
of a homologous pair
(within tetrad formed from
synapsis)
Chromosomes and Cell
Reproduction
Origins of Genetic Variation Among Offspring

• The behavior of chromosomes during meiosis

and fertilization is responsible for most of the
variation that arises in each generation
• Three mechanisms contribute to genetic
variation:
– Independent assortment of chromosomes
– Crossing over
– Random fertilization

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Independent Assortment of Chromosomes

• Homologous pairs of chromosomes orient

randomly at metaphase I of meiosis
• In independent assortment, each pair of
chromosomes sorts maternal and paternal
homologues into daughter cells independently
of the other pairs

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

• The number of combinations possible when
chromosomes assort independently into
gametes is 2n, where n is the haploid number
• For humans (n = 23), there are more than
8 million (223) possible combinations of
chromosomes

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Fig. 13-11-1

Possibility Possibility
1 2
Two equally probable
arrangements of
chromosomes at
metaphase I
Fig. 13-11-2

Possibility Possibility
1 2
Two equally probable
arrangements of
chromosomes at
metaphase I

Metaphase II
Fig. 13-11-3

Possibility Possibility
1 2
Two equally probable
arrangements of
chromosomes at
metaphase I

Metaphase II

Daughter
cells
Combination Combination Combination Combination
1 2 3 4
Crossing Over

• Crossing over produces recombinant

chromosomes, which combine genes
inherited from each parent
• Crossing over begins very early in prophase I,
as homologous chromosomes pair up gene by
gene

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

• In crossing over, homologous portions of two
nonsister chromatids trade places
• Crossing over contributes to genetic variation
by combining DNA from two parents into a
single chromosome

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Fig. 13-12-1
Prophase I Nonsister
of meiosis chromatids
Pair of held together
homologs during synapsis
Fig. 13-12-2
Prophase I Nonsister
of meiosis chromatids
Pair of held together
homologs during synapsis

Chiasma

Centromere
TEM
Fig. 13-12-3
Prophase I Nonsister
of meiosis chromatids
Pair of held together
homologs during synapsis

Chiasma

Centromere
TEM

Anaphase I
Fig. 13-12-4
Prophase I Nonsister
of meiosis chromatids
Pair of held together
homologs during synapsis

Chiasma

Centromere
TEM

Anaphase I

Anaphase
II
Fig. 13-12-5
Prophase I Nonsister
of meiosis chromatids
Pair of held together
homologs during synapsis

Chiasma

Centromere
TEM

Anaphase I

Anaphase
II

Daughter
cells
Recombinant chromosomes
Random Fertilization

• Random fertilization adds to genetic variation

because any sperm can fuse with any ovum
(unfertilized egg)
• The fusion of two gametes (each with 8.4
million possible chromosome combinations
from independent assortment) produces a
zygote with any of about 70 trillion diploid
combinations

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

• Crossing over adds even more variation
• Each zygote has a unique genetic identity

Animation: Genetic
Variation
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
 The Evolutionary Significance of Genetic
Variation Within Populations
• Natural selection results in the accumulation of
genetic variations favored by the environment
• Sexual reproduction contributes to the genetic
variation in a population, which originates from
mutations

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Fig. 13-9a

MITOSIS MEIOSIS

Chiasma MEIOSIS I
Parent cell
Chromosome Chromosome
Prophas replication replication Prophase I
e Homologous
chromosom
Replicated 2n = 6 e
chromosome pair

Metaphas Metaphase
e I

Anaphase Anaphase I
Telophase Telophase
I Haploid
n=3
Daughter
cells of
meiosis I
2n 2n MEIOSIS
II
Daughter n n n n
cells Daughter cells of meiosis
of mitosis
II