Final answer:
Mitosis consists of sequential stages starting with prophase and ending with cytokinesis, during which the chromosomes condense, attach to spindle fibers, align at the metaphase plate, are pulled apart during anaphase, and are separated into two new nuclei in telophase.
Step-by-step explanation:
To properly trace the movement of chromosomes during mitosis, one must understand the sequential stages involved in this process. Mitosis is a critical aspect of cell division that ensures each daughter cell receives an exact copy of the parent cell's chromosomes.
- Prophase: Chromosomes condense and become visible. The mitotic spindle begins to form, but the nuclear envelope is still intact.
- Prometaphase: The nuclear envelope breaks down, allowing spindle fibers to attach to kinetochores on the chromosomes.
- Metaphase: Chromosomes align at the metaphase plate, with sister chromatids facing opposite poles.
- Anaphase: Cohesion proteins dissolve, and sister chromatids are pulled apart by the spindle fibers toward opposite poles.
- Telophase: Nuclear membranes start to reform around separated sister chromatids, now individual chromosomes, at the poles of the cell.
- Cytokinesis: The cytoplasm divides, creating two daughter cells, each with a complete set of chromosomes.