Significance of mitosis

• Mitosis


  The process of nuclear division by which two genetically identical daughter nuclei are produced that are also genetically identical to the parent nucleus
• Significance of Mitosis


  • Enables growth of multicellular organisms
  • Enables replacement of cells and repair of tissues
  • Enables asexual reproduction
• Mitosis


  1. Produces two genetically identical daughter cells

  2. Maintains the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell
• Mitosis in unicellular zygotes

  Enables the zygote to grow into a multicellular organism
• Growth in multicellular organisms


  May occur across the whole body or be confined to certain regions (e.g. meristems in plants)
• Cell death


  Requires continual replacement by genetically identical cells (e.g. in skin and gut lining)
• Regeneration in animals


  • Zebrafish can regenerate fins
  • Axolotls can regenerate legs and tail
• Asexual reproduction


  Production of new individuals of a species by a single parent organism, where the offspring are genetically identical to the parent
• Asexual reproduction in unicellular organisms


  • Cell division in Amoeba results in genetically identical offspring
• Asexual reproduction in multicellular organisms

  • New individuals grow from the parent organism and then detach (e.g. budding in Hydra and yeast, runners from strawberries)