1.2.

Chromosomes: Basics
 In eukaryotic cells, the nucleus contains thread-like structures
called chromosomes
 Chromosomes are made from highly coiled strands of relatively long DNA.
Each chromosome is made from one DNA molecule
 In the body cells of diploid organisms, chromosomes are normally found in
pairs
 One chromosome from each pair is inherited from the mother, the other from
the father
 Different species of organisms have different numbers of chromosomes in
their nuclei
o Humans have 46 chromosomes in the nucleus of all their body cells,
found in 23 pairs
o Horses have 64 chromosomes in 32 pairs
o Red blood cells are an exception – they lose their nuclei and therefore
have no chromosomes
 Before a cell can divide, its genetic material needs to be doubled. This results
in the characteristic ‘X’ shaped chromosomes we see in micrographs of cells
preparing to divide

Chromosomes are usually uncoiled, when a cell prepares to divide they fold
up into ‘worm-like’ structures that we recognise

1.2.2

The Cell Cycle

 Mitosis is a stage in the cell cycle when the nucleus divides
 The cell cycle is a series of stages in the life cycle of a cell
 During the growth phase of the cell cycle, the genetic material of the cell
(chromosomes) is doubled
 Two copies of each chromosome are produced; these initially remain attached to each
other with each strand called a chromatid
 The chromatids will eventually be divided between the two genetically identical
daughter cells that form from the dividing cell
 During the growth phase, the number of subcellular structures (such as ribosomes and
mitochondria) also increases

The Process of Mitosis

 For a multicellular organism to grow, cells must divide by mitosis to produce two new
identical daughter cells
 During mitosis, one chromosome from each set is pulled to each end of the cell, and a
new nucleus forms around each group of chromosomes
 After this, the cytoplasm and cell membranes divide in a process known as
cytokinesis. This results in the formation of two genetically identical daughter cells
 Diagram showing the process of cell division by mitosis

 So, if a human cell with 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs needs to divide by mitosis:

o Its 46 chromosomes are doubled, so that there are two copies of each of the 46
chromosomes (or 92 chromatids) in total in the cell
 The number of ribosomes and mitochondria subcellular structures also
increases
o During mitosis, the chromatids are pulled apart, with a complete set of 46
chromosomes in 23 pairs moving to each end of the cell
o The cytoplasm and cell membrane divide, forming two new daughter cells

Exam Tip
You do not need to know the names or phases of mitosis (such as prophase) – so don’t write
about them in your AQA GCSE exam. Doing so will not earn you credit and will only waste
valuable time. But you do need to appreciate the three overall stages of the cell cycle:

 Growth phase (chromosome doubling and subcellular structures increase)

 Mitosis
 Cytokinesis (division of cytoplasm and the cell membrane)

The Role of Mitosis

 Cell division by mitosis is important in the growth and developmentof multicellular
organisms
 When a sperm cell fertilises an egg cell in human reproduction, the resulting zygote
cell that forms divides by mitosis, with each subsequent cell produced dividing in the
same way to form an embryo
 As the embryo continues to grow in size, with the cells dividing by mitosis (and
differentiating), a fetus forms
 Therefore, for a multicellular organism to grow, cells have to divide by mitosis to
produce an increase in cell number

Exam Tip

In your exams, expect to see micrographs of either animal or plant cells in different stages of
mitosis, you need to be able to recognise and describe what might be occurring in the
images.Cells that are not actively dividing should be easy to identify as their chromosomes
will be unravelled and look non-distinct (they’ll appear like strands of thread).
Calculating Cell Cycle
 You may also be asked to use observations of how many cells are in each stage of the
cell cycle to estimate how long each stage of the cell cycle lasts

Worked Example

Cell Cycle Length

1.2.3

Specialised Cells: Review

 Multicellular organisms are organisms made from more than one cell
o You (a human) are multicellular, being made from trillions of cells
 Specialised cells have a particular structure and composition that allow them to
perform a specific function, and they form through a process known
as differentiation
o There are about 250 specialised cell types in the human body (e.g. red blood
cell, motor neurone cell etc.)
 If a specialised cell is able to divide by mitosis, the daughter cells produced will be
the same type of specialised cell. These cells have lost their ability to differentiate into
other types of cell

Did this video help you?

YesNo
 Stem Cells
 If cells are isolated at an early stage of growth (before they have started to become too
specialised), they can retain their ability to grow into a range of different types of cells
– these are stem cells
 A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell of an organism which is capable of dividing
(giving rise) to many more cells of the same type (undifferentiated stem cells)
 From these cells, other cells can arise through the process of differentiation

The table below summarises the different types of stem cell you need to know about:

Stem cells

Stem Cells: Animals v Plants

 Embryonic stem cells are important as they help to form all of the different tissues
and organs needed during development to form a new individual
 The role of adult stem cells is predominantly to replace cells lost through damage or
to produce new cells for growth – although the bone marrow has to continually make
new blood cells throughout life
 In plants, meristem cells are unspecialised cells which can differentiate into the cells
needed by the plant in regions where growth is occurring
 For example, meristem cells in the roots can differentiate into root hair cells as well as
other cells required in this part of the plant
  The stem cells found in the meristems of plants retain the ability to differentiate into
any type of plant cell throughout the life of the plant

Stem Cells in Medicine

 It is possible to grow human embryos in the lab and to extract embryonic stem
cells from them
 These embryonic stem cells can then be encouraged to differentiate into most types of
specialised cell
 Scientists and doctors could use stem cell technology to repair damaged organs by
growing new tissue from stem cells produced by embryos created using genetic
information from the patient
 Adult stem cells can also be cultured in the lab and made to differentiate into
specialised cells, but of fewer types than embryonic stem cells (predominantly cells of
the blood)
 Stem cells could be used to cure many diseases in the future, such as diabetes and
paralysis:

Stem cell treatment

Therapeutic Cloning
 In therapeutic cloning, an embryo is produced with the same genes as the patient
 A 5-day old embryo is the best source of embryonic stem cells
 Stem cells from embryos created in this way are not rejected by the patient’s body
 So they may be used for medical treatment without the patient having to take drugs to
suppress their immune system (which reduce the body’s ability to fight infection)
 Diagram showing the process of therapeutic cloning

Evaluating Stem Cells in Medicine

Evaluating stem cells
 Stem Cells in Plants
 Unlike in animals, plant stem cells can be obtained easily, and without ethical
objection, from meristems. They can then be used to produce clones of plants quickly
and economically
o Plant clones can be produced in weeks at a relatively low cost for their
potential value
 Rare species at risk of extinction as a result of human activity can be cloned to protect
them and maintain biodiversity
o The plants produced are clones, so although numbers increase, genetic
diversity within clones is low
o Cloning rare plants gives scientists more time to study them to see if they can
produce any compounds of interest
 Crop plants with special features such as disease or pest resistance can be cloned to
produce large numbers of identical plants for farmers
o This reduces the need to use chemicals such as pesticides, which has
environmental benefits