MEIOSIS
and
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
MEIOSIS and SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
What is sexual reproduction?
During sexual reproduction a male reproductive cell (a sperm) and a female
reproductive cell (an egg) unite and fuse to form an embryo that develops into a
new individual. The process of uniting these two cells is called fertilisation.
The nuclei of the two cells unite.
MEIOSIS, WHAT IS IT?
Meiosis (meaning ‘lessening act’)
Nuclear division that results in halving of the chromosome
number and ultimately leading to the production of gametes
(occurs in reproductive organs of sexually reproducing
organisms).
The following terms are important to know when
thinking about the process of meiosis:
• Karyotype
• Autosomes and sex chromosomes
• Homologous chromosomes
• Genes and alleles
• Ploidy
The CHROMOSOME COMPLEMENT of an organism.
KARYOTYPE
The number and appearance of
chromosomes in the nucleus of
eukaryotic cells.
Sex chromosomes
• Determine the sex of an
individual.
Autosomes
• All other chromosomes.
This image shows a human karyotype. There are 22 pairs
of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes: XY in
this case (a male).
HOMOLOGOUS CHROMOSOMES (OR HOMOLOGUES)
• They are the same size and shape, and carry the same genes in the same
place along their lengths.
• They may each carry a different version of a particular gene i.e. alleles.
GENES and ALLELES
• A gene is a section of DNA that carries information that influences a heritable trait
(i.e. eye colour).
• An allele is one version of that information. Homologues may carry different versions
of a gene.
PLOIDY
Ploidy refers to the number of complete sets
of chromosomes in an organism.
Some species have only one set of
chromosomes, others have multiple sets.
The notation used for the number of sets of
chromosomes is n.
• A species with 1 set of chromosomes is
termed haploid (n), with 2 sets is termed
diploid (2n), 3 sets is triploid (3n),
tetraploid (4n) and so on. Anything more
than tetraploid is often referred to as
polyploid (many sets)
PLOIDY LEVEL shown in karyotypes of mitotic cells versus post-meiotic cells (gametes).
Humans have 23 different chromosomes (n = 23), and are diploid (2n) meaning that
they have 2 sets of these 23 chromosomes (2n = 46) i.e. one set from the maternal
parent and one set from the paternal parent, in all somatic cells.
Humans have haploid gametes.
MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE…
Chromosomes and sister chromatids
The term chromosome is applied to a structure that carries a unique set of genetic
information. Hence unreplicated and replicated chromosomes are both considered
to be single chromosomes.
Phases of Meiosis I
MEIOSIS I is where all the interesting stuff happens.
Microtubules
attach to
kinetochores
Phases of Meiosis I
MEIOSIS I is where all the interesting stuff happens.
MEIOSIS GENERATES GENETIC VARIATION
At the end of Meiosis I:
1. Non-sister chromatids that were involved in crossing over will be a
mixture of maternal and paternal alleles = RECOMBINATION
2. Each daughter cell at the end of meiosis 1 receives a mixture of
maternal and paternal chromosomes. This is random and depends
on which side of the metaphase plate (metaphase I) each of the
homologues sits
= RANDOM or INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT
Phases of Meiosis II
MEIOSIS II – Slightly less interesting but still important!
Comparison of Mitosis & Meiosis
Overview of Meiosis products
MEIOSIS INVOLVES TWO CELL DIVISIONS: Meiosis I and Meiosis II
• After Meiosis I the chromosomes of an homologous pair (tetrad or bivalent) end up in two different (haploid)
daughter cells.
• After Meiosis II each of the four chromatids of the original tetrad will end up in one of the four daughter cells
(also haploid).
Several events are unique to meiosis I
1. Synapsis
2. Crossing over and chiasmata formation
3. Homologues align at the metaphase plate
4. Sister chromatids remain joined, but homologues separate,
and each ends up in one of the two daughter cells
EVENTS UNIQUE TO MEIOSIS I
1. SYNAPSIS
• Homologous chromosomes pair
up forming TETRADS (or bivalents)
i.e. four chromatids)
• A synaptonemal complex forms
between two homologues
non-sister
chromatids
EVENTS UNIQUE TO MEIOSIS I
2. CROSSING OVER & CHIASMATA
• Non-sister chromatids physically overlap with
one another and swap DNA
• As the synaptonemal complex breaks down,
homologues pull apart but remain attached
by the protein complexes that form at the
chiasmata (cross-over points), as seen in the
micrograph of a tetrad (below).
Synapsis and crossing over result in the
RECOMBINATION of maternal and paternal
alleles along a chromatid.
EVENTS UNIQUE TO MEIOSIS I
2. CROSSING OVER & CHIASMATA
EVENTS UNIQUE TO MEIOSIS I
4. HOMOLOGOUS PAIRS ALIGN ALONGSIDE THE METAPHASE PLATE
• The homologues lie on either side of the metaphase plate in meiosis I.
• Compare this to mitosis (diagram below, left), in which each chromosome of the
homologous pair is not associated with the other. Each one aligns separately
somewhere along the metaphase plate.
meiosis I
mitosis
metaphase
plate
EVENTS UNIQUE TO MEIOSIS
5. SISTER CHROMATIDS REMAIN ATTACHED AT THE CENTROMERE
• Maternal and paternal version of chromosomes each end up in a different daughter cell.
• In mitosis sister chromatids split.
meiosis I
mitosis
metaphase
plate
INDEPENDENT (or RANDOM) ASSORTMENT
• Random assignment of parental (maternal or paternal) chromosomes to each daughter
cell.
• It depends which side of the metaphase plate they end up on.
Assortment 1
Assortment 2
• Random assortment
Possible combinations: 2n
n = 2, then 4 combinations possible
n = 3, then 8 combinations possible
n = 20, 106 different combinations
possible!
n = 23, (humans), then 8 388 608
combinations…
Formula - 2n
Meiosis explains the Principle of Independent Assortment
Genes for different traits assort independently because non-
homologous chromosomes assort independently during
Meiosis I (two traits involved).
ALL OF THESE UNIQUE EVENTS HAPPEN IN MEIOSIS I
SO WHAT HAPPENS IN MEIOSIS II?
The two daughter cells formed in meiosis I move into meiosis II without going through the
whole cell cycle again.
Meiosis II is similar to mitosis:
• Sister chromatids separate, and each of the four chromatids of the original tetrads will
end up in one of four daughter cells.
• One essential difference is that chromatids that were involved in a crossing over event will
carry a different set of alleles than either parent did.
Amoeba sisters: Meiosis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzDMG7ke69g
Recap of meiosis (8 mins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czMmSBaVI4I
Bozeman Science on meiosis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16enC385R0w
Mistakes can occur during meiosis
• This is not as unusual as you might think.
• Effects are usually only apparent after fertilisation i.e. seen in birth defects.
• Estimated that 25% of fertilisation events in humans are terminated
naturally due to abnormalities in gametes.
Trisomy of chromosome 21 leads to
Down Syndrome.
• This occurs in 1 in every 650 live births
In the diagram below, nondisjunction happens in
meiosis II when sister chromatids fail to separate.
Old eggs are bad eggs?
Birth defects increase with maternal age (egg-related)
• Human females are born with all the ‘eggs’ (actually primary oocytes)
they will ever have, and at birth these cells are in ‘meiotic arrest’.
• Meiosis I is only completed at ovulation.
• Meiosis II is only completed if the oocyte is fertilised.
So, the meiotic machinery may be to blame for birth defects
e.g. the cohesion complex degrades.
So what about aging sperm?
• Sperm are produced continuously in an adult male.
• Meiotic mistakes also increase as males age BUT …
• …Competition between sperm decreases the likelihood of a
defective one winning the race!
More Mistakes in Meiosis:
Meiotic (or nuclear) Restitution
Meiotic restitution results in unreduced gametes. These gametes have the same number
of chromosomes as somatic cells.
Restitution can occur due to failure of meiosis I, meiosis II, or cytokinesis.
Polyploids are formed, and they often result in viable offspring.
This process is exploited for crop production, and is a major driver of speciation in plants.
Meiosis I & II in pollen producing cells:
meiotic restitution occurs in meiosis I in the example below.
NORMAL MEIOSIS MEIOTIC RESTITUTION
The pollen producing cells are diploid (2n), and by the end of meiosis II
there should be four haploid cells, as is the case for the cell on the far
left of the image. Meiosis I fails in the cell on the right.
Anaphase I
Chromosomes fail to separate.
At this point the genetic material should be halved in each of the
(soon to be) daughter cells i.e. each gets only one set of chromosomes
(haploid, n). Compare the two different cells in Anaphase I.
The pollen producing cell remains diploid (2n) as it moves into
Telophase I and Interkinesis*.
Note that at Interkinesis ALL of the genetic material is in one half of
the dividing cell, and there is no genetic material in the other half. The
empty cell will not function, and will float away.
The daughter cell containing all of the chromosomes then goes on to
complete meiosis II successfully BUT instead of producing four haploid
pollen cells, the result is two diploid pollen cells
.
*INTERKINESIS is the name for the division that occurs at the end of meiosis I, from which two
daughter cells are formed.
Diagrammatic representation of meiotic restitution in meiosis I,
and in meiosis II.
