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.
Meiosis is actually a type of cell division that occurs in the testes of males and in the ovaries of females. Meiosis leads to the formation of cells bearing half the normal number of chromosomes. The process is also referred to as spermatogenesis in males and oogenesis in females. Meiosis does not occur in asexual organisms. It occurs only in organisms that reproduce sexually.All plants and animals undergo meiosis.