25 Remarkable Difference between Mitosis and Meiosis

What is the difference between Mitosis and Meiosis?

Life starts from a single cell that further divides and grows. The transfer of parental DNA to offspring is carried out by both mitosis and meiosis.

However, the two terms used in cell division normally confused a lot of students preparing for exams. The lesson provides the difference between mitosis and meiosis to avoid confusion.

Difference between Mitosis and Meiosis

What Is Mitosis?

Mitosis is a cell division where a cell divides to produce a daughter cell having the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell.

The main function of mitosis is to replace damaged cells, dead cells, and those cells that tend to have a short lifespan. Somatic cells such as fat cells, skin cells, and blood cells tend to experience mitosis.

A daughter cell tends to appear at the end of mitosis and this is a clear indication that they follow certain stages such as Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, and Telophase.

What Is Meiosis?

Meiosis is a cell division where the number of chromosomes is reduced by half during the separation of homologous chromosomes in a diploid cell.

The process normally results in the formation of four daughter cells at the end of meiosis. It normally occurs in reproductive cells such as sperm and ovum.

The formation of the four daughter cells occurs after the process goes through certain stages of first meiotic division and second meiotic division.

The first meiotic division stages are Interphase I, Prophase I, Metaphase I, Anaphase I, and Telophase I. The Second meiotic division stages are Prophase II, Metaphase II, Anaphase II, and Telophase II.

Comparison Chart: Mitosis vs Meiosis 

Basic Terms Mitosis Meiosis
Type of Reproduction Asexual Sexual
Genetics of Daughter cell Similar Different
Cross Over No mixing There is a mixing of chromosomes
The phase of cell division One Two
Pairing of homologs Absent Present
Mother cells Either Haploid or diploid Diploid only
Number of daughter cells 2 diploid cells 4 haploid cells
Chromosomes number Remain the same Reduce by half
Chromosome pairing Do not take place Occur during zygotene of prophase I and continue up to metaphase I.
Function Creation of body cells except for sex cells Creation of sex cells only
Place of occurrence Somatic cells Reproductive cells
Chiasmata Absent Present during prophase I and metaphase I.
Spindle Fibres Disappear during telophase Do not disappear during telophase I
Nucleoli Reappear at telophase Absent during telophase I
Steps Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase. (Meiosis 1) Interphase I, Prophase I, Metaphase I, Anaphase I, Telophase I; (Meiosis 2) Prophase II, Metaphase II, Anaphase II, and Telophase II.
Karyokinesis Occurs in Interphase. Occurs in Interphase I.
Cytokinesis This occurs in Telophase. This occurs in Telophase I and in Telophase II.
Centromeres Split During anaphase. During anaphase II
Prophase Simple and take a few hours Complicated and take several days
Synapsis Do not occur Occur during prophase
Exchange of Segments Two chromatids of a chromosome do not exchange segments during prophase. Chromatids of two homologous chromosome exchange segments during crossing over.
Chromosome Alignment in Metaphase Sister chromatids align at the metaphase plate. Tetrads align at the metaphase plate in metaphase I.
Chromosome Separation during anaphase Sister chromatids separate and begin migrating centromere first toward opposite poles of the cell. Homologous chromosomes migrate toward opposite poles of the cell during anaphase I. Sister chromatids do not separate in anaphase I.
Tetrad Formation Do not take place Occur during prophase I
Discovered by Walther Flemming Oscar Hertwig.

Core Difference between Mitosis and Meiosis In Point Form 

What are the five differences between mitosis and meiosis? They include:

  1. The number of chromosomes during mitosis remains the same while during meiosis reduces by half.
  2. Mitosis takes place in somatic cells while meiosis take place in reproductive cells
  3. Mitosis results in the formation of two daughter cells while meiosis results in the formation of four daughter cells.
  4. Meiosis entails pairing of chromosomes whereas in mitosis there is no pairing of chromosomes
  5. Mitosis has one cell division with four stages while meiosis has two cell divisions with four stages each.

Similarities between Mitosis and Meiosis

  1. Both take part in cells
  2. Both involve multiplication of cells
  3. Both result in the synthesis of DNA
  4. Both happen in the M-phase of the cell cycle.
  5. No cardiac cells and nervous tissue involve in cell division
  6. The nucleus of both can be seen through a light microscope

You May Also Like:

Comparison Video

Conclusion

Cell division gives rise to two daughter cells and this is quite vital to promote the existence of all living organisms. Here the parent cell normally split to produce two or more daughter cells.

However, cell division comprises of both mitosis and meiosis. The difference between mitosis and meiosis in tabular form or point form is quite easy to comprehend.

More Sources and References

Leave a Comment