Sordaria fimicola is a species of microscopic fungus. It is commonly found in the feces of herbivores. Sordaria fimicola is often used in introductory biology and mycology labs because it is easy to grow on nutrient agar in dish cultures. The genus Sordaria, closely related to Neurospora and Podospora, is a member of the large class Pyrenomycetes, or flask-fungi. The natural habitat of the three species of Sordaria that have been the principal subjects in genetic studies is dung of herbivorous animals. The species S. fimicola is common and worldwide in distribution. The species of Sordaria are similar morphologically, producing black perithecia containing asci with eight dark ascospores in a linear arrangement. These species share a number of characteristics that are advantageous for genetic studies. They all have a short life cycle, usually 7–12 days, and are easily grown in culture. Most species are self-fertile and each strain is isogenic. All kinds of mutants are easily induced and readily obtainable with particular ascospore color mutants. These visual mutants aid in tetrad analysis, especially in analysis of intragenic recombination

Eukaryotic cell cycle
The division cycle of most cells consists of four coordinated processes: cell growth, DNA replication, distribution of the duplicated chromosomes to daughter cells, and cell division. In bacteria, cell growth and DNA replication take place throughout most of the cell cycle, and duplicated chromosomes are distributed to daughter cells in association with the plasma membrane. In eukaryotes, however, the cell cycle is more complex and consists of four discrete phases. Although cell growth is usually a continuous process, DNA is synthesized during only one phase of the cell cycle, and the replicated chromosomes are then distributed to daughter nuclei by a complex series of events preceding cell division. Progression between these stages of the cell cycle is controlled by a conserved regulatory apparatus, which not only coordinates the different events of the cell cycle but also links the cell cycle with extracellular signals that control cell proliferation.
The regulation of the cell cycle involves processes crucial to the survival of a cell, including the detection and repair of genetic damage as well as the prevention of uncontrolled cell division. The molecular events that control the cell cycle are ordered and directional; that is, each process occurs in a sequential fashion and it is impossible to "reverse" the cycle.

Mitosis and Meiosis Mitosis means the division or replication of somatic cells a cell if formed during a phase called Interphase which is not a part of mitosis but occurs before mitosis. During interphase the cell goes through growth, synthesis. The first actual phase of mitosis is Prophase where the chromatins condense to form chromosomes, the nuclear membrane breaks down, and the spindle fibers are created, the next phase is Metaphase. I this phase all of the chromosomes will line up at the equator of the cell, next is Anaphase where the chromosomes are pulled apart to opposite ends of the cell, next is telophase where the cell starts to split in two. After the completion of telophase there are twin daughter cells that have identical makeup. Bothe daughter cells are now in interphase reading them for mitosis. Meiosis occurs in the "gonads" and only effects the gametes Meiosis have similar stages as mitosis. During meiosis 1 the cell divides just like mitosis but when the two daughter cells enter interphase they do not replicate their DNA, instead they enter meiosis 2 which is the same steps but he end result is 4 haploid daughter cells out of those 4 cells, all 4 of them can be able sperm cells and only 1 can become an egg.

DNA replication DNA replication is a biological process that occurs in all living organisms and copies their DNA; it is the basis for biological inheritance. The process starts when one double-stranded DNA molecule produces two identical copies of the molecule. The cell cycle also pertains to the DNA replication/reproduction process. The cell cycle includes, interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Each strand of the original double-stranded DNA molecule serves as template for the production of the complementary strand, a process referred to as semiconservative replication. Cellular proofreading and error toe-checking mechanisms ensure near perfect fidelity for DNA replication.

Transcription Transcription is the process of creating a complementary RNA copy of a sequence of DNA. Both RNA and DNA are nucleic acids, which use base pairs of nucleotides as a complementary language that can be converted back and forth from DNA to RNA by the action of the correct enzymes. During transcription, a DNA sequence is read by an RNA polymerase, which produces a complementary, antiparallel RNA strand. As opposed to DNA replication, transcription results in an RNA complement that includes uracil in all instances where thymine would have occurred in a DNA complement.

Translation In molecular biology and genetics, translation is the third stage of protein biosynthesis. In translation, messenger RNA produced by transcription is decoded by the ribosome to produce a specific amino acid chain, or polypeptide that will later fold into an active protein. In Bacteria, translation occurs in the cell's cytoplasm, where the large and small subunits of the ribosome are located, and bind to the mRNA. In Eukaryotes, translation occurs across the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum in a process called vectorial synthesis. The ribosome facilitates decoding by inducing the binding of tRNAs with complementary anticodon sequences to that of the mRNA. The tRNAs carry specific amino acids that are chained together into a polypeptide as the mRNA passes through and is "read" by the ribosome in a fashion reminiscent to that of a stock ticker and ticker tape.

Gene regulation Gene regulation is a process in which a cell determines which genes it will express and when. There are a number of reasons why organisms from unicellular animals to blue whales engage in gene regulation. Regulation of genes is a topic of interest for some researchers who are interested in learning more about how the process works and what happens when it goes wrong.
Gradable Content * Describe S. fimicola. * Describe the taxonomy of the organism. * Describe the structure of the organism. * Describe how humans interact with the organism: * Medical uses or interactions? * Industrial uses or applications? * Research uses or applications? * Describe eukaryotic cell cycle and the regulation of the cell cycle. * Describe mitosis and meiosis, making sure to distinguish which type of cell will experience each. * Make sure you discuss the nature of the chromosome, and how DNA condenses into a chromosome. * Describe alternation of generations and make sure that you discuss which type of alternation of generation will be experienced by S. fimicola. * Describe Mendel's first and second laws of inheritance and explain how they relate to the events of meiosis. * Describe how Mendel's laws are applied to the modern theory of evolution. * Describe DNA replication, and explain the importance of the semiconservative model and the maintenance of DNA through generations. * Describe Transcription. * Describe eukaryotic post-transcriptional modifications, and why they are important. * Describe Translation. * Describe how a mutation in DNA can result in changes in gene expression. * Describe Gene regulation, and the importance of gene regulation to the normal functioning of a cell. * Make sure to connect gene regulation to signal systems and the ability of the cell to respond to environmental signals.
Milestone Paper 3 must be loaded into SWoRD by Sunday, April 15 at 11:59pm.
Reviews must be completed by 11:59pm Friday, April 20th.