MITOSIS, CYTOKINESIS, MEIOSIS AND APOPTOSIS Michelle Gehringer Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Port Elizabeth, South Africa Keywords: Cell cycle, checkpoints, growth factors, mitosis, meiosis, cyclin, cyclin dependent protein kinases, G1 phase, S phase, spindle, prophase, anaphase, metaphase,
Summary: At the end of meiosis, 4 daughter cells are formed = eggs or sperm. Each contains half as many chromosomes as the parent cell (n); each cell is genetically different from its parents and from its siblings. Fertilization of an egg by a sperm restores the chromosome number to 2n.
At the conclusion of meiosis, there are four haploid daughter cells that go on to develop into either sperm or egg cells. Meiosis is a type of cell division that reduces the number of chromosomes in the parent cell by half and produces four gamete cells. This process is required to produce egg and sperm cells for sexual reproduction.