feed home

What is mitosis? What is the importance of mitosis?

Mitosis is the process in which one eukaryotic cell divides into two cells identical to the parent cell (generally identical, since alterations in genetic material can occur, more or less organelles may be distributed between the daughter cells, etc.)

Mitosis is fundamental for asexual reproduction of eukaryotes, for the embryonic development, for the growth of pluricellular beings and for tissue renewing.

Why in some cases is mitosis synonym of reproduction?

In some living beings asexual reproduction occurs by many means: binary division, schizogony, budding, grafting, etc. In asexual reproduction of eukaryotes mitosis is the mechanism by which the constituent cells of the new beings are made.

The term mitosis do not apply to prokaryotes since it involves nuclear division and eukaryotic structures.

What is the importance of mitosis for the embryonic development?

Every embryo grows from a single cell that suffers mitosis and generates other cells that also divide themselves by mitosis forming tissues and complete organs. The perfect regulation and control of each of those mitosis are fundamental for the creation of a normal individual. Without mitosis the embryonic development would be impossible.