Cytokinesis
Cytokinesis is the second part of the mitotic phase during which cell division is completed by the physical separation of the cytoplasmic components into two daughter cells. Although the stages of mitosis…
The Cell Cycle
The cell cycle is an ordered series of events involving cell growth and cell division that produces two new daughter cells. Cells on the path to cell division proceed through…
Introduction to Reproduction at the Cellular Level
Figure 6.1 A sea urchin begins life as a single cell that (a) divides to form two cells, visible by scanning electron microscopy. After four rounds of cell division, (b)…
Photosynthesis
The shared evolutionary history of all photosynthetic organisms is conspicuous, as the basic process has changed little over eras of time. Even between the giant tropical leaves in the rainforest…
The Calvin Cycle
After the energy from the sun is converted and packaged into ATP and NADPH, the cell has the fuel needed to build food in the form of carbohydrate molecules. The…
The Light-Dependent Reactions of Photosynthesis
How can light be used to make food? It is easy to think of light as something that exists and allows living organisms, such as humans, to see, but light…
Introduction to Photosynthesis
Figure 5.1 This sage thrasher’s diet, like that of almost all organisms, depends on photosynthesis. (credit: modification of work by Dave Menke, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) No matter how…
Anaerobic Cellular Respiration
Certain prokaryotes, including some species of bacteria and Archaea, use anaerobic respiration. For example, the group of Archaea called methanogens reduces carbon dioxide to methane to oxidize NADH. These microorganisms…
Fermentation
In aerobic respiration, the final electron acceptor is an oxygen molecule, O2. If aerobic respiration occurs, then ATP will be produced using the energy of the high-energy electrons carried by…
Citric Acid Cycle and Oxidative Phosphorylation
The Citric Acid Cycle In eukaryotic cells, the pyruvate molecules produced at the end of glycolysis are transported intomitochondria, which are sites of cellular respiration. If oxygen is available, aerobic…
