Because each resultant daughter cell should be genetically identical to the parent cell, the parent cell must make a copy of each chromosome before mitosis. The genome is composed of a number of chromosomes, complexes of tightly-coiled DNA that contain genetic information vital for proper cell function. The primary result of mitosis is the division of the parent cell's genome into two daughter cells. Errors in mitosis can either kill a cell through apoptosis or cause mutations that may lead to cancer. Even in animals, cytokinesis and mitosis may occur independently, for instance during certain stages of fruit fly embryonic development. This occurs most notably among the fungi and slime moulds, but is found in various different groups. However, there are many cells where mitosis and cytokinesis occur separately, forming single cells with multiple nuclei. The cell then divides in cytokinesis, to produce two identical daughter cells.īecause cytokinesis usually occurs in conjunction with mitosis, 'mitosis' is often used interchangeably with 'mitotic phase'. During the process of mitosis the pairs of chromosomes condense and attach to fibers that pull the sister chromatids to opposite sides of the cell. These stages are prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. The sequence of events is divided into phases, corresponding to the completion of one set of activities and the start of the next. The process of mitosis is complex and highly regulated. Prokaryotic cells, which lack a nucleus, divide by a process called binary fission. In multicellular organisms, the somatic cells undergo mitosis, while germ cells - cells destined to become sperm in males or ova in females - divide by a related process called meiosis. For example, animals undergo an 'open' mitosis, where the nuclear envelope breaks down before the chromosomes separate, while yeast such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and fungi such as Aspergillus nidulans undergo a 'closed' mitosis, where chromosomes divide within an intact cell nucleus. Mitosis occurs exclusively in eukaryotic cells, but occurs in different ways in different species. Mitosis and cytokinesis together define the mitotic (M) phase of the cell cycle, the division of the mother cell into two daughter cells, each with the genetic equivalent of the parent cell. It is generally followed immediately by cytokinesis, which divides the nuclei, cytoplasm, organelles and cell membrane into two daughter cells containing roughly equal shares of these cellular components.

Mitosis is the process by which a cell duplicates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, in order to generate two, identical, daughter nuclei. Mitosis divides the chromosomes in a cell nucleus. Risk calculators and risk factors for MitosisĮditor-In-Chief: C. US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Mitosis

Articles on Mitosis in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ

Mitoza meaning