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Which of the following organisms might form an aster during mitosis?

Option 1: Plant cells
Option 2: Animal cells
Option 3: Bacterial cells
Option 4: Fungal cells

User IMOBAMA
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Final answer:

Animal cells are the ones that might form an aster during mitosis as part of the mitotic spindle, which is essential for the segregation of sister chromatids. Plant and fungal cells do not form asters as they lack centrioles, while bacterial cells do not undergo mitosis at all and instead replicate through binary fission.

Step-by-step explanation:

The organism that might form an aster during mitosis is Option 2: Animal cells. Asters are star-shaped structures that form around the centrioles during mitosis in animal cells. These structures are composed of microtubules radiating from the centrioles and are part of the mitotic spindle crucial for the separation of sister chromatids.

In contrast, plant cells, fungal cells, and bacterial cells do not form asters. Plant and fungal cells lack centrioles and have different mechanisms for organizing their spindles, whereas bacterial cells undergo binary fission, not mitosis, and thus do not form a spindle apparatus or asters at all.

Binary fission in bacterial cells involves the replication of the single bacterial chromosome and segregation of the copies to opposite ends of the cell, followed by division into two cells. On the other hand, eukaryotic cells like those of animals, plants, and fungi undergo a more complex process of mitosis, which is crucial in the development of an adult organism from diploid cells.

In summary, the mitotic spindle and associated structures like asters are essential for the correct segregation of chromosomes during mitosis, ensuring that each daughter cell receives the correct number of chromosomes. This process is very different from bacterial binary fission, although both are forms of cell division.

User GBrian
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