What process occurs when a cell plate forms or a cleavage furrow pinches cells apart?

What process occurs when a cell plate forms or a cleavage furrow pinches cells apart?

• A. Mitosis
• B. Cytokinesis
• C. Meiosis
• D. Interphase

Answer: (B)

Cytokinesis is the process that occurs at the end of cell division, specifically during the final stages of mitosis and meiosis, where the cytoplasm of a parental cell divides into two daughter cells. It is characterized by the formation of a cleavage furrow in animal cells or a cell plate in plant cells. In animal cells, the cleavage furrow forms as a contractile ring of actin filaments pulls the membrane inward, effectively pinching the cell into two separate cells. In plant cells, during cytokinesis, vesicles containing cell wall materials accumulate at the center of the cell, where they fuse to form the cell plate, which grows outward until it fuses with the existing cell membrane, ultimately creating two distinct daughter cells. This process is distinct from mitosis, which specifically refers to the division of the nucleus and the segregation of genetic material. Meiosis also involves nuclear division but is a specialized form of division that reduces the chromosome number by half to form gametes. Interphase, on the other hand, is the phase during which the cell prepares for division, including DNA replication and growth but does not involve the physical separation of cells. Thus, the creation of a cell plate or a cleavage furrow is integral to cytokinesis

Cytokinesis is the process that occurs at the end of cell division, specifically during the final stages of mitosis and meiosis, where the cytoplasm of a parental cell divides into two daughter cells. It is characterized by the formation of a cleavage furrow in animal cells or a cell plate in plant cells.

In animal cells, the cleavage furrow forms as a contractile ring of actin filaments pulls the membrane inward, effectively pinching the cell into two separate cells. In plant cells, during cytokinesis, vesicles containing cell wall materials accumulate at the center of the cell, where they fuse to form the cell plate, which grows outward until it fuses with the existing cell membrane, ultimately creating two distinct daughter cells.

This process is distinct from mitosis, which specifically refers to the division of the nucleus and the segregation of genetic material. Meiosis also involves nuclear division but is a specialized form of division that reduces the chromosome number by half to form gametes. Interphase, on the other hand, is the phase during which the cell prepares for division, including DNA replication and growth but does not involve the physical separation of cells. Thus, the creation of a cell plate or a cleavage furrow is integral to cytokinesis