Eukaryotic cell division

• Mitosis is the process by which a cell divides to produce two genetically identical daughter cells
• Asexual reproduction is the production of genetically identical offspring from a single parent or organism
• Sexual reproduction is the production of offspring that are genetically different from the parent organism or organisms by the fusing of two sex cells (gametes)
• Meiosis is a form of cell division in which the chromosome number of the original cell is halved, leading to the formation of the gametes
• Histones are positively charged proteins involved in the coiling of DNA to form dense chromosomes in cell division
• Nucleosomes are dense clusters of DNA wound around histones
• A karyotype is a way of displaying an image of the chromosomes of a cell to show the pairs of autosomes and sex chromosomes
• The cell cycle is a regulated process of three stages (interphase, mitosis and cytokinesis) in which cells divide into two genetically identical daughter cells
• Interphase is the period between active cell divisions when cells increase their size and mass, replicate their DNA and carry out normal metabolic activities
• A chromatid is one strand of the replicated chromosome pair that is joined to the other chromatid at the centromere
• Cyclins are small proteins that build up during interphase and are involved in the control of the cell cycle by their attachment to cyclin-dependent kinases
• Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are enzymes involved in the control of the cell cycle by phosphorylating other proteins, activated
• Prophase is the first stage of active cell division where the chromosomes are coiled up and consist of two daughter chromatids joined by the centromere. The nucleolus breaks down
• Metaphase is the second stage of active cell division where a spindle of overlapping protein microtubules forms and the chromatids line up on the metaphase plate
• Anaphase is the third stage of active cell division where the centromeres split so chromatids become new chromosomes. They are moved to the opposite poles of the cell, centromere first, by contractions of the microtubules of the spindle
• Telophase is the fourth stage of active cell division where a nuclear membrane forms around the two sets of chromosomes, the chromosomes unravel and the spindle breaks down
• The centromere is the region where a pair of chromatids are joined and which attaches to a single strand of the spindle structure at metaphase
• The metaphase plate (equator) is the region of the spindle in the middle of the cell along which the chromatids line up
• Cytokinesis is the final stage of the cell cycle before it enters interphase again - division of the cytoplasm at the end of mitosis to form two independent, genetically identical cells
• Clones are genetically identical offspring produced as a result of natural or artificial asexual reproduction
• Binary fission is the splitting of one individual to form two new individuals
• Sporulation is the process involving mitosis in the production of asexual spores that can grow into new individuals
• Regeneration is the use of mitosis to regrow a body part that has been lost
• Fragmentation is the use of mitosis to regenerate a whole organism from a fragment of the original
• Budding is the production by mitosis of an outgrowth from the parent organism that develops into a small independent organism
• Vegetative propagation is the process by which a plant forms a structure by mitosis that develops into a fully differentiated, genetically identical new plant
• Parthenogenesis is the process by which an unfertilised egg cell develops into a new individual
• Dry mass


  Is the mass of the body of an organism with all the water removed from it
• Meristem 


  Is the region of mitosis and growth in a plant shoot or root