- Overview
- Stages of Mitosis
- Mitosis Image Gallery
- Glossary of Terms
- Quiz
In anaphase, the paired chromosomes (sister chromatids) separate and begin moving to opposite ends (poles) of the cell. Spindle fibers not connected to chromatids lengthen and elongate the cell. At the end of anaphase, each pole contains a complete compilation of chromosomes.
View image of a cell in anaphase.
Changes that occur in a cell during anaphase:
- The paired centromeres in each distinct chromosome begin to move apart.
- Once the paired sister chromatids separate from one another, each is considered a "full" chromosome. They are referred to as daughter chromosomes.
- Through the spindle apparatus, the daughter chromosomes move to the poles at opposite ends of the cell.
- The daughter chromosomes migrate centromere first and the kinetochore fibers become shorter as the chromosomes near a pole.
- In preparation for telophase, the two cell poles also move further apart during the course of anaphase. At the end of anaphase, each pole contains a complete compilation of chromosomes.
