Let’s begin by reviewing the anatomy of cells, and cover
some basic terminology. Chromosomes.
You’ll remember from Part I of this course that every plant cell has a nucleus, and
that the nucleus contains the cell’s genetic information.
Within the nucleus is the chromatin, which is a substance made up of
DNA plus some nuclear proteins. During cell division, the chromatin becomes condensed into
distinct strands or threads called chromosomes.
Genes. A typical chromosome's DNA
contains thousands of subsections called genes,
the basic units of heredity. It might help to think of chromosomes as strings of beads,
with each bead representing a gene.
We'll be talking much more about genes next
week.
