Lesson 5 of 13 · 5 min
Anaphase and telophase
NCERT §10.2.3–10.2.4
Diya points to a cell on the slide where the dark material seems to be pulling apart into two V-shaped crowds, and asks Ishaan how many chromosomes it holds right now.
The lesson in notes
In short
At the start of anaphase every chromosome on the metaphase plate splits at the same moment: the centromeres split and the two chromatids separate.
The separated chromatids are now called daughter chromosomes, one for each future daughter nucleus, and they move to opposite poles.
As a chromosome moves, its centromere points towards the pole and leads, while the arms trail behind.
For a 2n cell, each pole receives a complete set of 2n single-chromatid chromosomes.
In telophase the chromosomes that have reached the poles decondense and lose their individuality. They can no longer be seen one by one; the chromatin collects as a mass at each pole.
A nuclear envelope forms around each cluster, giving two daughter nuclei, and the nucleolus, Golgi complex and ER reappear.