Description of Stages of Cell Reproduction Process

Cell Reproduction
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Cell Reproduction
Description of Stages of Cell Reproduction Process
The two types of cell division in human beings are mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis is responsible not only for growth and development but also for the replacement of injured cells (Wambuguh, 2019), such as those injured through a skin cut. Meiosis is responsible for sexual reproduction (Wambuguh, 2019).
Stages of Mitosis
The basic stages of mitosis are prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, and cytokinesis.
Prophase: Involves breaking down and building up some cell structures. Specifically, the nucleolus disappears, chromatins start to condense, and the mitotic spindle starts to form (Scott et al., 2022). The mitotic spindle separates and moves the chromosomes from the mother to the daughter cells.
Prometaphase: The nuclear membrane breaks down completely and releases chromosomes, which are now more condensed. The microtubules, which collectively form the mitotic spindle, attach to the kinetochores, allowing for chromosome movement for the remaining stages of mitosis (Scott et al., 2022).
Metaphase: The spindle captures and lines up the replicated chromosomes along the center of the cell (the metaphase plate) (Wambuguh, 2019). The sets of chromatids attach to the spindle fibers from each end of the pole. A metaphase checkpoint also ensures a proper attachment of microtubules to the kinetochores (Scott et al., 2022).
Anaphase: The chromatids are separated to become mature chromosomes, which are then pulled by the microtubules toward the opposite sides of the cell. The non-kinetochore microtubules lengthen and push apart to separate the poles. Each side of the cell gains a complete set of replicated chromosomes (Wambuguh, 2019).
Telophase: It involves re-establishing normal cell structure. A new nuclear membrane forms and the nucleolus reappears. The separated chromosomes start to decondense, and the spindle disappears (Scott et al., 2022).
Cytokinesis: The cytoplasm divides to form two daughter cells. Specifically, the cleavage furrow is developed, which then contracts in diameter until two complete and identical daughter cells are formed (Scott et al., 2022).
Stages of Meiosis
Cell division in meiosis follows two steps: meiosis I and meiosis II. Meiosis I ensures that homologous chromosomes from the parents are separated (Wambuguh, 2019). The basic stages of meiosis I include:
Prophase I: The nucleolus disappears, chromatin starts to condense, and the microtubules start to form. In addition, synapsis occurs, which allows the crossing over of homologous chromosome partners so that they can be paired together (Scott et al., 2022). Crossing over ensures there is genetic information recombination.
Prometaphase I: The nuclear membrane is broken down completely, and the microtubules attach to the kinetochores of the homologous chromosomes (Scott et al., 2022).
Metaphase I: Like in mitosis, the spindle captures and lines up the chromosomes along the metaphase plate. However, the chromosomes line up as homolog pairs, and when they separate from each other, they form a haploid state at the opposite sides of the pole (Wambuguh, 2019).
Anaphase I: Homologous chromosomes are separated and pulled towards either side of the cell's poles. However, unlike in mitosis, the sister chromatoids in meiosis are not separated (Scott et al., 2022). Due to homolog separation, the cell shifts from a diploid to a haploid state.
Telophase I: A nuclear membrane reforms, and...