Name _____________________________ Period _________

AP Biology Date ______________________

LAB ____. MITOSIS AND CANCER

One of the basic tenets of biology is that all new cells come from living cells. New cells are
formed by the process of cell division which includes both the division of the cell’s nucleus
(mitosis) and the division of the cells cytoplasm (cytokinesis). Mitotic nuclear division typically
rests in new somatic (body) cells. All of the following processes are accomplished through
mitotic cell divisions:
 Formation of an adult organism from a fertilized egg (zygote)
 Asexual reproduction (as in the reproduction of an Amoeba or Paramecium)
 Regeneration (as in the re-growth of a starfish arm)
 Repair or maintenance of body parts (as in the healing of a wound or the
replacement of epithelial tissue)
 Growth (as in growth in height of a tree or growth in size of a maturing animal)
Although, once it has started, mitosis is a continuous process, scientists have divided it into
distinct stages for convenience and ease of study and understanding of the cellular events.
These are illustrated below (for plant cells) in Figure 1.

FIGURE 1. DIAGRAMATIC GUIDE TO THE STAGES OF MITOSIS

Interphase Prophase Metaphase

Anaphase Telophase Interphase

of new daughter cells

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In this lab, we will be viewing sections of tissue containing mitotic cells and determining what
stages each of the cells is in and estimating how long each stage lasts. We will also be
comparing normal cells and cancer cells to see how mitosis is altered in cancer cells.
Where does one find cells undergoing mitosis? It depends if you are studying plants or animals.
Plants and animals differ in this respect. In higher plants (gymnosperm and angiosperm), the
process of forming new cells is restricted to special growth regions called meristems. These
regions usually occur at the tips of the stems and roots of the plant. In animals, cell division
occurs in many tissues and in many organs throughout the body — whenever cells receive the
appropriate signals to form new cells, possibly for growth or to repair an injury or to replace old
cells. However, some tissues in both plants and animals rarely divide once the organism is
mature, like nerve cells or muscle cells in animals or mature xylem or phloem in plants.

PART 1. NORMAL MITOSIS IN PLANTS

1. Obtain a compound microscope and a slide of a longitudinal section through an onion root
tip. Clean both before proceeding.

2. Scan the side under low power first and locate the apical meristem, the region of rapidly
dividing cells directly behind the protective root cap. Refer to Figures 2 and 3 for guidance.

Figure 2. Onion root tip photograph Figure 3. Onion root tip diagram

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3. Switch to high power and center your slide in the apical meristem region, so that you have a
field of view in which there is a wide selection of cells in various stages of mitosis (including
interphase). Be sure to adjust your light for optimum viewing. Refer to Figure 4 for guidance.

Figure 4. Stages of mitosis in onion root tip cells

interphase /
beginning
interphase prophase early prophase mid prophase late prophase

metaphase early anaphase early telophase

anaphase telophase (cytokinesis)

4. You are now going to identify the stage of each cell in your field of view. Starting at the top
right corner of the field, record the stage of each cell in Data Table 1 as Area 1. Count your
cells in a systematic manner.

5. After completing the count in this first area (Area 1), move your slide to a new area of the
apical meristem region and perform the stage identification and count a second time. Again
record the stage of each cell in Data Table 1, but list this count in Area 2.

6. Repeat the count a third time in a third area of the apical meristem region and record the
stage of each cell in Data Table 1, but list this count in Area 3.

7. Return to viewing the slide of the onion root tip. Find a representative cell for each stage of
mitosis and draw a clear diagram in the accompanying space. Be sure to draw only what
you see, but include all details that are visible. Your drawings will not necessarily look
exactly like the ones in Figure 1.

8. Now in Data Table 1, sum across the count areas to find the total number of cells in each
phase.

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9. Calculating the time for each stage of mitosis: There is a direct relationship between the
number cells counted in a given stage of mitosis and the time that that stage takes to
complete. This may be calculated if the total time for mitosis in onion root tip cells is known.
(That total time is measured from interphase to interphase.) It is generally accepted that the
total time for mitosis in onion root tip cells is 720 minutes (12 hours). Therefore, to calculate
the time for each stage of mitosis in these onion cell, set up a ratio of the number of cells in
each phase, compared to the total number of cells counted. Then multiply this fraction by
the total time (720 minutes) needed to complete one mitotic division. In other words, the
time for a specific phase is equal to:

Number of cells in a specific phase

X 720 minutes = time for specific phase
Total number of cells counted

10. Using your data, calculate the time required for the completion of each stage of mitosis in
onion root tip cells. Be sure to use the totals for all three count areas. Record these
calculated results in the appropriate column of Data Table 1.

11. Now, calculate the percentage of the cell cycle spent in each phase and record it in Data
Table 1.

12. Prepare a bar graph to illustrate your results. Your independent variable is the five stages of
mitosis and your dependent variable is the “time (minutes) to complete stage”.

DATA TABLE 1. COUNT AND TIMING OF CELLS IN VARIOUS STAGES OF MITOSIS

# Cells in # Cells in # Cells in Total Time in % of
Stage of Mitosis
Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 # Cells Minutes Cell Cycle

INTERPHASE 502 206 1172 685 95%

464

PROPHASE 10 12 20 2.7%
34
12

METAPHASE 3 3 4 10 6 0.8%

ANAPHASE 2 3 5 10 6 0.8%

TELOPHASE 2 1 2 5 3 0.7%

Totals 1231 720 100%

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FIGURE 5. OBSERVED STAGES OF MITOSIS

Interphase Prophase Metaphase

Anaphase Telophase Cytokinesis

PART 2. SIMULATING MITOSIS

1. Using the pop-it beads provided by your teacher to model

chromosomes, demonstrate your understanding of the
process of mitosis. Begin with a cell with 4 chromosomes
(2 pairs of homologous chromosomes, therefore the diploid
number = 4). Distinguish the pairs of chromosomes from
each other by size (one pair long and one pair short).
Distinguish the members of each homologous pair by color.
The magnet will represent the centromere. Use construction
paper to represent the rest of the cell. Demonstrate to your
teacher the process of mitosis in this cell.

Teacher’s initials ____________

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PART 3. MITOTIC DIVISION IN CANCER CELLS

A key characteristic of cancer cells is that they are no longer constrained by the standard cell
cycle controls that normally coordinate cell division activity. Consequently the timing of mitosis
in cancer cells is altered. You may have heard of cancer cells being “runaway” which have no
controls on their rate of reproduction. It is this characteristic that allows some cancer cells to
grow and spread quite rapidly. In this section of the lab, you will analyze data to determine the
differences in timing of mitosis between normal stomach cells and cancerous stomach cells of
the chicken.

DATA TABLE 2. Mitosis in Normal Chicken DATA TABLE 3. Mitosis in Cancerous

Stomach Cells Chicken Stomach Cells
% of % of
Stage of Stage of
Total Time in Cell Total Time in Cell
Mitosis Mitosis
# Cells Minutes Cycle # Cells Minutes Cycle

INTERPHASE 440 88 INTERPHASE 424 380 84.8

550

PROPHASE 40 50 8 PROPHASE 50 44.8 10

METAPHASE 8 10 METAPHASE 12 10.752 2.4

1.6

ANAPHASE 2 2.5 .4 ANAPHASE 3 2.688 .6

TELOPHASE 10 12.5 TELOPHASE 11 9.856 2.2

2

Totals 500 625 100% Totals 500 448 100%

1. Study the data in Table 2 (Mitosis in Normal Chicken Stomach Cells). Assume that the total
time needed for one normal mitotic division of these cells is 625 minutes. Calculate, in the
same manner as before, the total time needed for each normal phase of mitosis. Also,
calculate the percentage of the cell cycle spent in each phase. Enter these data in the
appropriate column of Data Table 2.

2. Repeat the same analysis for the data in Table 3 (Mitosis in Cancerous Chicken Stomach
Cells). In the case of cancer cells, however, the total time needed for one mitotic division is
only 448 minutes. Also, calculate the percentage of the cell cycle spent in each phase.
Enter these data in the appropriate column of Data Table 3.

3. Prepare a bar graph to illustrate these results. Your independent variable is the five stages
of mitosis and your dependent variable is the “time (minutes) to complete stage”. Plot both
the data for normal cells and for cancerous cells on the same graph.

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SUMMARY QUESTIONS
Referring to your data and graphs for onion root tip cells in Part 1, answer the following
questions.

1. Which stage in the mitotic cycle takes the most time? What percentage of the total time is
this?

Stage: Interphase.
_________________________________________________________________________
Percentage: Interphase typically takes about 90% of the total cell cycle time.
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2. Why do you think that this stage (in Question 1) takes so much longer? What activities, in
relation to mitosis are occurring during this phase?
Reason: Interphase involves critical preparation for mitosis.
_________________________________________________________________________
Activities: DNA replication (S phase).
Cell growth and production of organelles.
_________________________________________________________________________
Protein synthesis.
Checkpoints to ensure the cell is ready for division.
_________________________________________________________________________

3. Which stage is the second longest? What percentage of the total time is this?

Stage: Prophase.
_________________________________________________________________________
Percentage: Prophase accounts for approximately 5-10% of the total cell cycle time
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

4. Again, what activities, in relation to mitosis are occurring during this phase?

Activities:
_________________________________________________________________________
Chromatin condenses into visible chromosomes.
_________________________________________________________________________
Nuclear envelope breaks down.
Spindle fibers begin to form and attach to chromosomes.
_________________________________________________________________________

5. List the remaining stages, in order, from longest to shortest duration.

Interphase (longest).
_________________________________________________________________________
Prophase.
Metaphase.
_________________________________________________________________________
Anaphase.
Telophase.
_________________________________________________________________________
Cytokinesis (shortest).
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Referring to your data and graphs for normal and cancer chicken stomach cells in
Part 3, answer the following questions.

6. How do the data for each phase in the normal chicken cell compare with that of the onion
root tip cell? Are the percentages of time for the two longest phases similar? Are you able
to make any generalized conclusions based on the information.

Both cells show Interphase as the longest phase, followed by Prophase.

_________________________________________________________________________
Generalization: The percentages of time spent in Interphase and Prophase are relatively similar in both cell
_________________________________________________________________________
types, reflecting their importance in growth and preparation for division.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

7. How does the timing of the complete cell cycle differ in normal chicken cell vs. cancerous
chicken cells?

Cancerous chicken cells have a shorter cell cycle due to reduced time in Interphase, leading to faster division
_________________________________________________________________________
rates.
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

8. Which stage exhibits the most dramatic difference in timing between normal and cancerous
chicken cells?

Interphase exhibits the most significant difference, as cancer cells often bypass key checkpoints, shortening
_________________________________________________________________________
this phase.
_________________________________________________________________________

9. What nuclear and cytoplasmic changes would you expect to find in cancer cells, as
compared to their normal counterparts? (HINT: What events would be most affected by the
alteration in timing sequence of mitosis?)

Nuclear Changes: Increased mutation rates. Abnormal chromosome numbers (aneuploidy). Disorganized chromatin. Cytoplasmic
_________________________________________________________________________
Changes: Altered organelle size and distribution (e.g., enlarged nucleolus). Increased metabolic activity. Formation of abnormal
_________________________________________________________________________
spindle fibers. Faster progression through mitotic phases, leading to potential errors in division.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

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