Abstract:
When cells divide, each chromosome must replicate and segregate to maintain the appropriate
chromosome number in the descendant daughter cells. In eukaryotes, two main types of nuclear
divisions are called mitosis and meiosis. Even though the molecular mechanism and cell fates in
these two types of divisions are different, some of the common molecular features are - DNA
replication, cohesion (adhesion of replicated chromosomes), and orderly movement of
chromosomes into descendant cells. Mitosis is the nuclear division associated with the asexual
division of cells. In multicellular organisms mitosis takes place during the division of somatic cells.
In single-celled eukaryotes such as yeasts, mitosis occurs in the cell divisions that cause population
growth. Since asexual cell division is required for clonal propagation, it is necessary for the set of
chromosomes to be maintained constant through the generations by mitotic cell division.
