Teen Biology Magazine May/June 2013 | Page 7

The flick of a wand

To create a bond,

A single potion

Sets the sperm in motion.

A simple process

With a chance of success,

Meiosis it’s called,

It’s been forestalled.

Meiosis I is the start,

And Prophase I is the forepart.

The doubled DNA forms chromosome pairs,

With two identical chromatin that the chromosomes share.

The genes crossover

As homologous chromosomes line up together.

The centrioles move to poles,

So that they may fulfill their roles.

Spindle fibres are forming

And the nuclear membrane is deforming.

In Metaphase I, the homologous pairs line up

At the equator and prepare to breakup.

Homologous chromosomes separate in Anaphase I,

Each chromosome goes to poles to get it done.

Telophase I is where the cytoplasm splits in two,

Forming 46 chromosome cells, but not calling it due.

The nuclei may reform in both cells,

Or they may be left like DNA shells.

Meiosis I is followed by Meiosis II,

And this part starts with Prophase II.

Prophase II and Prophase I have things they share,

Instead there aren’t homologous pairs

In Metaphase II, the line of chromosomes begins to form,

Standing at the equator in a single file swarm.

The Anaphase II separation splits the chromosomes into two parts,

Each chromatin moving to the poles as they depart.

Telophase II is when the cells split apart again,

As the nuclear membrane reforms the cells brain.

Through Meiosis, a diploid cell divides,

Becoming four haploid cells as fast as the tides.

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