What is the phase of the cell cycle where the cell grows and prepares for DNA replication?
G1 phase
What is the phase of mitosis where chromosomes become visible?
Prophase
What type of plant root tips are commonly used to study mitosis in this lab?
Onion root
What protein complex is responsible for driving the cell from G2 into mitosis?
Mitosis-promoting factor (MPF)
How do you calculate the total number of cells in interphase and mitosis from observed values?
Add the number of cells in each phase across all observed samples.
What happens during the S phase of the cell cycle?
DNA replication
What structure helps separate the chromosomes during mitosis?
Mitotic spindle
What stain is used to make chromosomes visible in the root tips?
Carbol-fuchsin
What is the role of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) in the cell cycle?
CDKs regulate progression through the cell cycle by phosphorylating target proteins.
What statistical test is used to analyze the significance of mitosis rates between control and treated groups?
Chi-square test
Name the three stages of interphase.
G1, S, and G2 phases
A region made of repetitive sequences in the chromosomal DNA where sister chromatids are attached
Centromere
What is a lectin?
A protein that binds to specific carbohydrates
Which checkpoint ensures that all DNA has been replicated properly before mitosis?
G2 checkpoint
What is the critical chi-square value for a degree of freedom (df) of 1 at a probability level of 0.05?
3.84
mitogen
Telophase
What is a null hypothesis in the context of this lab’s experiment?
The null hypothesis is that lectin treatment has no effect on the number of cells in mitosis.
What happens if the M-spindle checkpoint is not satisfied?
The cell cycle is halted, and anaphase does not proceed.
What does it mean if the chi-square value exceeds the critical value?
The null hypothesis is rejected, indicating a significant difference between groups.
Second messenger that triggers cell replication upon lectin exposure
Ca2+
How do plant cells differ from animal cells during cytokinesis?
Plant cells form a cell plate, while animal cells form a cleavage furrow.
Design a controlled experiment to test whether light exposure affects the rate of mitosis in onion root tips.
Mutations in genes controlling the cell cycle are commonly found in which type of cells?
Cancer cells
Control Interphase: 127; Control Mitosis: 46
Treated Interphase: 147; Treated Mitosis: 67
Interpret the results, provide chi square and p-value
chi-square: 0.815
p-value 0.367
not significant