Mitotic cell division (Mitosis), its stages

and Significance
September 20, 2023 Sushil Humagain Biology, Cell biology, Developmental biology, Zoology 0

Source: Neural Academy (Youtube)

What is cell division?

 Life of multicellular organisms starts from a single cell known as a zygote. An adult
plant or animal contains millions of cells.
 With the growth of an organism, a large number of cells are formed from pre-
existing cells. A single cell divides to form daughter cells, which in turn divide
again and again forming large number of cells.
 Hence, cell division is a process by which new cells are formed from pre-existing
cells.
 Cell division in plants is restricted to certain areas or regions called the
meristematic regions. Animals have active centers of cell division in the skin, bone
marrow and certain cells of the intestinal lining.
  In an adult animal, there is less or no division of nerve cells and these if lost
cannot be replaced.
 In order to understand the process of cell division, the study of the structure of
chromosome is very important because it plays a significant role in the process.
 In cell division, two major processes are involved;
 Karyokinesis:
 Involves the division of the nucleus or nuclear material
(chromosomes). During the division of the nucleus,
each chromosome splits longitudinally, forming two
chromatids.
 These chromatids remain attached in the region of
centromere. The centromere appears as a constriction
at one place of a chromosome.
 The spindle fibers attach to the centromere of the
chromosome in a dividing cell.
 Cytokinesis: Involves the division of cytoplasm and cytoplasmic
organelles.
 There are two types of cell division:
 Mitosis
 Meiosis

Also see: Differences between Mitosis and Meiosis

MITOSIS

 Mitosis is a common method of cell division for the growth and development or
tissue repair in multicellular organisms.
 It occurs in somatic or vegetative cells.
 German biologist Walter Flemming was the first person to observe mitosis in living
organisms in 1877. He named it mitosis meaning thread formation. This refers to
the nuclear division where chromosomes appear as threads.
 It occurs in all types of living organisms. It is characterized by the division of the
parent cell into daughter cells.
 The two daughter cells are qualitatively and quantitatively similar to each other.
They contain the same number of chromosomes and a more or less equal
number of cell organelles.
 Therefore, mitosis is also called equational division.
 Once the process of mitosis begins, it continues until two new cells are formed.
For the sake of convenience, the sequence of events occurring during mitosis can
be divided into different stages or phases, which are;
 Interphase
 Prophase
  Metaphase
 Anaphase
 Telophase
 These phases are characterized by the arrangement of chromosomes during
nuclear division. i.e karyokinesis.
1. Interphase:
 Before the cell division starts, the cell is in the interphase. It is the period between
two nuclear divisions.
 It is the non-dividing stage of the cell.
 It is the period of biochemical activities in which the DNA is replicated and coiled
around a central core of protein to form a distinct chromosome.
 At this stage, the nucleus has distinct nuclear membrane. The nucleolus can be
seen but the chromosomes are long, coiled and thread-like and are called
chromatin.
 This is also called a preparatory phase as the cell is prepared to undergo cell
division.
2. Prophase:
 It is the longest stage in cell division. The nucleus undergoes the
following set of changes in this phase.
1. The chromatin threads gradually condense into short,
thick and coil forming condensed chromosomes.
2. As the chromosomes become prominent, the
nucleolus decreases in size and disappears at the end
of the prophase.
3. The nuclear membrane breaks and dissolves into the
cytoplasm at the end of the prophase. This makes the
chromosomes unbound and free in the cytoplasm.
4. Just before the chromosomal activity begins, the
centrosome divides into two (now called centioles) and
move away from each other into opposite poles of the
cell and form ‘poles. Each centriole then radiates
spindle fibers.
 [Note: Centrioles are present in animal cells and some lower plant
cells. In most of the higher plants, centrioles are absent and the
poles of the divisions are determined by two clear zones in the
cytoplasm of the cell.]