NCBI » Bookshelf » The Cell » Cell Regulation » The Cell Cycle » The Events of M Phase

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Figure 14.23

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   Stages of mitosis in an animal cell

During prophase, the chromosomes condense and centrosomes move to opposite sides of the nucleus, initiating formation of the mitotic spindle. Breakdown of the nuclear envelope then allows spindle microtubules to attach to the kinetochores of chromosomes. During prometaphase, the chromosomes shuffle back and forth between the centrosomes and the center of the cell, eventually aligning in the center of the spindle (metaphase). At anaphase, the sister chromatids separate and move to opposite poles of the spindle. Mitosis then ends with re-formation of nuclear envelopes and chromosome decondensation during telophase, and cytokinesis yields two interphase daughter cells. Note that each daughter cell receives one centrosome, which duplicates prior to the next mitosis.