Cytokinesis

• The second part of the mitotic phase during which cell division is completed by the physical separation of the cytoplasmic components into two daughter cells is known as Cytokinesis.
• Although the stages of mitosis are similar for most eukaryotes, the process of Cytokinesis is quite different for eukaryotes that have cell walls, such as plant cells.
• In animal cells, cytokinesis is achieved through the constriction of the cell by a ring of contractile microfilaments consisting of actin and myosin.
• The actin filaments pull the equator of the cell, inward forming a fissure called cleavage furrow.
• The furrow deepens as the actin contracts, and eventually the membrane since the cell split into two.
• In plant cells the cytoplasm is divided by the formation of a new cell wall, called the cell plate, between the two daughter cells.
• Once the daughter cells are separated, cellulose synthesis begins, and the cell plate becomes a primary cell wall.
• Animal cells: a cleavage furrow separates the daughter cells
• Plant cells: a cell plate, the precursor to a new cell wall, separates the daughter cells