When cells have gone through interphase, the first stage of their life cycle, they transistion into mitosis, the most common eukaryotic cell reproduction process. There are four phases of mitosis: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. During prophase, the nuclear membrane dissolves, and all of the DNA that was duplicated at the very end of interphase, each pair of duplicates is made up of two chromatids, condenses. In metaphase, the chromatids align across the equator of th cell. During anaphase, spindle fibers become visible and pull the paired chromatids in half. Each half goes to a separate end of the cell. Then, during telophase, a nuclear membrane begins to reform around each cluster of DNA. Mitosis is over. 

The third and final part of the cell cycle is cytokinesis, in which the cytoplasm and organelles that has also duplicated, moves to the opposite ends of the cell with the DNA clusters. Cytokinesis ends for an animal cell with the new cell membrane pinching off each section of the cell and creating two daughter cells. For plant cells and other cell with a cell wall, cytokinesis entails a cell plate 



Leave a Reply.