WANI Dictionary

Anaphase

Anaphase is the stage of mitosis and meiosis, in which chromosomes or chromatids move toward the spindle poles.

In a narrow definition, anaphase is one of the phases in mitosis. Anaphases in meiosis I and II are called anaphase I and anaphase II, respectively, and different structures are involved. i.e.,

• Two sister chromatids separate and move (mitosis).
• Homologous chromosomes separate and move (meiosis I).
• Chromatids separate and move (meiosis Ii).

Definitions in the literature

• in mitosis, the stage in which the sister chromatids of each chromosome separate from one another and are moved to opposite poles of the cell; in meiosis I, the stage in which homologous chromosomes, consisting of two sister chromatids, are separated; in meiosis II, the stage in which the sister chromatids of each chromosome separate from one another and are moved to opposite poles of the cell [1].
• anaphase: Stage of mitosis in which chromatids separate and move toward the spindle poles [2].