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8.3: Mitosis in Plant and Animal Cells

  • Page ID
    133662
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    Mitosis has five phases: prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Once the cell has completed these phases, it will split in two via cytokinesis.

    Table 8.1 Phases of Mitosis
    PHASE DESCRIPTION APPEARANCE
    Prophase
    • Chromosomes condense and become visible
    • Nuclear envelope disappears
    • Centrosomes move to opposite sides (poles)
    clipboard_e5d13476f6af60d3a448ddd634ef4da14.png
    Prometaphase
    • Kinetochores (attachment points) appear on chromosomes
    • Spindle fibers form and attach to chromosomes
    clipboard_e1a8f9a2ce07cf449d2ceebee6a38d5eb.png
    Metaphase
    • Chromosomes line up at equator
    • Spindle fibers attach sister chromatids to opposite poles
    clipboard_e5fee7baca95780f04c7065b8c95fe972.png
    Anaphase
    • Sister chromatids are pulled apart and towards opposite poles
    • The cell begins to elongate
    clipboard_eda0729d2dd52c0ea9ee0f5bb17ead409.png
    Telophase
    • Chromosomes are on opposite poles
    • Nuclear envelope reforms around chromosomes
    • Spindle fibers break down
    clipboard_eb0e4473eefd96c87d4b96238fcd5fe92.png
    Cytokinesis
    • The cell splits into two
    • Forms a cleavage furrow (animals) or cell plate (plants)
    clipboard_e52598e031b913ed6f8942f49842e1e43.png

    Now that we are familiar with the many phases of mitosis, let’s identify them under the microscope. For this activity you will need your microscope, as well as a prepared fish blastula slide and an onion root tip slide. Find an example of each phase and then draw it in the provided space.

    Fish Blastula

    clipboard_ea1065cbfa6260c824a6a752392e5f30e.png

    Which phase was the easiest for you to find? Which was the hardest?

    Onion Root Tip

    clipboard_ea1065cbfa6260c824a6a752392e5f30e.png

    Now that you’ve looked at large groups of cells on slides, do you think a cell spends more time in interphase or mitotic phase? Why?


    This page titled 8.3: Mitosis in Plant and Animal Cells is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Karen Marks and Valeria Hochman Adler.

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