1. Distinguish between somatic and reproductive cell division and explain the importance of each.
Somatic cells are the regular body cells not involved in sexual reproduction. They undergo mitosis, wherein a cell duplicates its contents and divides into two. There are five phases in mitosis and somatic cells go through each phase until two diploid genetically identical daughter cells are created. This is important because it allows for production of new cells for growth to replace worn-out cells. Reproductive cell division, on the other hand, essentially produces gametes to facilitate reproduction. A cell undergoes two rounds: 1) meiosis I, where the diploid cell splits into two haploid cells; then 2) meiosis II, where the haploids are split (in a process similar to mitosis) and produce four daughter cells. Meiosis is also important because it allows sexual reproduction and is responsible for formation of gametes.
2. What is the significance of interphase?
In a cell cycle, the cell spends the majority of its time in interphase. This is where the cell grows, replicates its chromosomes, and essentially gets ready for cell division. If not for interphase, cells could not synthesize proteins and cell division cannot occur.