Dr E. Buxbaum EB15 at
Mon Mar 10 06:18:14 EST 1997

Tomasz Pado <tomaszp at> wrote:
 What amount of
>time (approx.) does a cell spend in each of the phases. I realize the
>time will be different for different cells, but I only need an
>approximation of plant cell cycle.

You can answer that question yourself for the cell line you are working with. Grow them on 
slides to mid log phase, fix them in Carnoy's solution and stain with any of the common 
nuclear stains. Then have a look at them. Count the cells in different phases of the cell 
cycle. The relative number of cells in each phase of the cycle is (in non-synchronized cells, 
of course) proportional to the relative amount of time the cells spend in this phase. In other 
words, if, say, 20% of your cells are in metaphase, then metaphase takes 20% of the cell cycle. 
Knowing the total time of the cell cycle (from the growth curve) you can then proceed to 
calculate the absolute time a cell spends in the various parts of the cycle.

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