Meiosis in males and females:
Differences and consequences
thereof.
Active Lesson
Developed by the following at HHMI Summer Institute 2012
Philip Farabaugh (UMBC), Benedict Kolber (Duquesne
University), Mary Konsolaki (Rutgers), Joseph McCormick
(Duquesne University), Karen Schindler (Rutgers), Cynthia
Wagner (UMBC), Mike Verzi (Rutgers)
This is the instructional Powerpoint which contains instructions plus the
teachable Powerpoint.
See the “Active Lesson Presentation Ready” file for a ready-to-go
Powerpoint for your class.
Intended Audience
•Introductory Biology or
Genetics
• 100-300 level
• 1 , 2 , 3 year students
• Biology majors
• Prerequisites: precalc, gen chem
st
nd
rd
Prior Knowledge/Lessons
•Stages of meiosis
•Compare/contrast
mitosis/meiosis
•Recombination
•Non-disjunction in the context of
recombination
•Warm-up reading of male vs.
female meiosis (from textbook)
Learning Goal
•Understand meiosis
Outcomes
The students should be able
to:
1. Describe differences
between meiosis in females
and males.
2. Explain the differences in
the rate of non-disjunction
between females and males
•
•
The next slide is the start of
the actual presentation.
Additional instructor notes
can be found below in
Powerpoint notes area.
Note: Suggested animations have
already been added in the Powerpoint.
Female vs. Male Meiosis
•What you have - Strips
describing steps of meiosis.
•What you need to do - Place
the strips in order from first to
last. Do this for both the males
and females.
Let’s go through the strips of
female meiosis.
Meiosis initiated in fetal
development
Arrested in prophase of
meiosis I
Asymmetric cell division
Resumption upon
puberty
Arrested at metaphase
of meiosis II
One functional germ cell
Let’s go through the strips of
male meiosis.
Meiosis initiated in
puberty
Meiosis proceeds
uninterrupted
Symmetric cell division
Symmetric cell division
4 functional germ cells
Let’s now compare males and
females on a time-line.
Females
Males
Feta
l
Arrest
Meiosis initiated
Asymmetric division
Menopaus
Meiosis initiated
Symmetric division
Symmetric division
8
Resumption of
meiosis
Asymmetric division
Continuous
Cyclica
l
Puberty
Case Study
This graph shows the rates of
trisomy in females and males.
Hecht, C. A. and Hook, E. B.
Using your clicker, select the best
biological choice of sperm donor
that the couple should use.
A.
B.
C.
D.
50 year old male
35 year-old male
Either male
Younger anonymous
male donor
Space for
clicker
graph
Defects in meiosis affect
human reproduction – 1 minute
essay
• Devise a plausible cellular process that
explains why there is an increase of
trisomies in females as they age
compared to males.
• Every student should describe their
mechanism in a 1min essay and
submit at the end of class (please put
your name on the card).
Take-home assignment looking
at new data showing that
paternal age affects
schizophrenia.
•On your own for next class:
• Read the following
• Malaspina
D; Harlap S; Fennig S; Heima
n D; Nahon D; Feldman D; Susser ES:
Advancing paternal age and the risk of
schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2001;
58:361—367.
• Talk about whether these new data would
affect Sheldon and Pete’s decision on a
sperm donor.
Additional Reading
•Hunt & Hassold.
Female Meiosis: Coming
unglued with age.
Current Bio 20(17). 2010
•That’s it!!!!!