Mitosis is the process by which a cell duplicates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, in order to generate two, identical, daughter nuclei. 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 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.
Mitosis occurs exclusively in eukaryotic cells, but occurs in different ways in different species. 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.[1] 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. Prokaryotic cells, which lack a nucleus, divide by a process called binary fission.
The process of mitosis is complex and highly regulated. The sequence of events is divided into phases, corresponding to the completion of one set of activities and the start of the next. These stages are prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. 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. The cell then divides in cytokinesis, to produce two identical daughter cells.
Because cytokinesis usually occurs in conjunction with mitosis, "mitosis" is often used interchangeably with "mitotic phase". However, there are many cells where mitosis and cytokinesis occur separately, forming single cells with multiple nuclei. This occurs most notably among the fungi and slime moulds, but is found in various different groups. Even in animals, cytokinesis and mitosis may occur independently, for instance during certain stages of fruit fly embryonic development.[2] Errors in mitosis can either kill a cell through apoptosis or cause mutations that may lead to cancer.
Overview
The primary result of mitosis is the division of the parent cell's genome into two daughter cells. The genome is composed of a number of chromosomes, complexes of tightly-coiled DNA that contain genetic information vital for proper cell function. 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. This occurs during S phase, in interphase, the period that precedes the mitotic phase in the cell cycle where preparation for mitosis occurs.[3]
Each new chromosome now contains two identical copies of itself, called sister chromatids, attached together in a specialized region of the chromosome known as the centromere. Each sister chromatid is not considered a chromosome in itself, and a chromosome does not always contain two sister chromatids.
In most eukaryotes, the nuclear envelope that separates the DNA from the cytoplasm disassembles. The chromosomes align themselves in a line spanning the cell. Microtubules, essentially miniature strings, splay out from opposite ends of the cell and shorten, pulling apart the sister chromatids of each chromosome.[4] As a matter of convention, each sister chromatid is now considered a chromosome, so they are renamed to sister chromosomes. As the cell elongates, corresponding sister chromosomes are pulled toward opposite ends. A new nuclear envelope forms around the separated sister chromosomes.
As mitosis completes cytokinesis is well underway. In animal cells, the cell pinches inward where the imaginary line used to be, (the pinching of the cell membrane to form the two daughter cells is called cleavage furrow) separating the two developing nuclei. In plant cells, the daughter cells will construct a new dividing cell wall between each other. Eventually, the mother cell will be split in half, giving rise to two daughter cells, each with an equivalent and complete copy of the original genome.
Prokaryotic cells undergo a process similar to mitosis called binary fission. However, prokaryotes cannot be properly said to undergo mitosis because they lack a nucleus and only have a single chromosome with no centromere.[5]
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