Mitotisk

Mitotisk is a term used in biology to describe processes, structures, or events related to mitosis, the type of cell division that distributes a cell’s genetic material into two genetically identical daughter nuclei. Mitosis is followed by cytokinesis, which divides the cytoplasm and completes cell division.

During mitosis, duplicated chromosomes condense and become visible under light microscopy. The nuclear envelope breaks down and the spindle apparatus, composed of microtubules and other proteins, forms outside the chromosomes. Microtubules attach to kinetochores located at the centromeres of chromosomes, guiding their alignment and separation. The sequence of mitotic phases—prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase—ensures accurate chromosome segregation. In metaphase, chromosomes align at the cell’s equator; in anaphase, sister chromatids are pulled to opposite poles; in telophase, the chromosomes de-condense and the nuclear envelope reforms.

Regulation of mitosis is controlled by cell-cycle checkpoints and regulatory proteins, such as cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases, which monitor DNA integrity and spindle attachment. Proper mitotic progression is essential for growth, development, tissue maintenance, and wound healing in multicellular organisms.

Mitotic processes are distinct from meiosis, the division that halves chromosome number to produce gametes. In contrast to eukaryotic mitosis, many prokaryotes divide by binary fission, a different mechanism of cell reproduction. Mitotisk as a descriptor appears in scientific contexts to denote mitosis-related phenomena in eukaryotic cells.