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Chapter 6

16 November, 2015 - 11:43
  1. Figure 4.6. The kinetochore becomes attached to the mitotic spindle. Sister chromatids line up at the metaphase plate. The kinetochore breaks apart and the sister chromatids separate. The nucleus reforms and the cell divides.
  2. C
  3. B
  4. B
  5. C
  6. A
  7. C
  8. C
  9. C
  10. C
  11. D
  12. Human somatic cells have 46 chromosomes, including 22 homologous pairs and one pair of nonhomologous sex chromosomes. This is the 2n, or diploid, condition. Human gametes have 23 chromosomes, one each of 23 unique chromosomes. This is the n, or haploid, condition.
  13. There are very few similarities between animal cell and plant cell cytokinesis. In animal cells, a ring of actin fibers is formed around the periphery of the cell at the former metaphase plate. The actin ring contracts inward, pulling the plasma membrane toward the center of the cell until the cell is pinched in two. In plant cells, a new cell wall must be formed between the daughter cells. Because of the rigid cell walls of the parent cell, contraction of the middle of the cell is not possible. Instead, a cell plate is formed in the center of the cell at the former metaphase plate. The cell plate is formed from Golgi vesicles that contain enzymes, proteins, and glucose. The vesicles fuse and the enzymes build a new cell wall from the proteins and glucose. The cell plate grows toward, and eventually fuses with, the cell wall of the parent cell.
  14. If one of the genes that produce regulator proteins becomes mutated, it produces a malformed, possibly non- functional, cell-cycle regulator. This increases the chance that more mutations will be left unrepaired in the cell. Each subsequent generation of cells sustains more damage. The cell cycle can speed up as a result of loss of functional checkpoint proteins. The cells can lose the ability to self-destruct.
  15. A proto-oncogene is the segment of DNA that codes for one of the positive cell-cycle regulators. If that gene becomes mutated to a form that is overactive, it is considered an oncogene. A tumor suppressor gene is a segment of DNA that codes for one of the negative cell-cycle regulators. If that gene becomes mutated to a form that is underactive, the cell cycle will run unchecked.
  16. The common components of eukaryotic cell division and binary fission are DNA duplication, segregation of duplicated chromosomes, and the division of the cytoplasmic contents.