Final answer:
Mitosis is a cell division process resulting in daughter cells with identical genetic information to the parent cell. DNA replication produces sister chromatids that are distributed to each daughter cell, ensuring genetic consistency. This process maintains heritable information during organism growth, development, and repair.
Step-by-step explanation:
To explain how alleles are transmitted by the process of mitosis to daughter cells, we first need to understand that mitosis is a form of cell division that results in two daughter cells each having the same number and kind of chromosomes as the parent nucleus. During the S phase of the cell cycle, DNA replication occurs, meaning each chromosome is copied to produce identical sister chromatids, which are eventually separated into each of the two daughter cells during mitosis.
When mitosis occurs, the parent cell's chromosomes, which have already duplicated during the S phase, line up in the center of the cell during metaphase. Next, during anaphase, the spindle fibers pull the sister chromatids apart, ensuring each new cell will receive an exact copy of the parent's genetic information. This is how heritable information is passed through mitosis.
This process ensures each daughter cell will have the same types of alleles as the parent cell, preserving genetic consistency. This is critical for the growth, development, and repair of multicellular organisms. Unlike meiosis, which leads to genetic variation through recombination and independent assortment and is involved in sexual reproduction, mitosis simply replicates the genetic information without creating diversity.