anaphase

Anaphase is the fourth phase of mitosis, the process that separates the duplicated genetic material carried in the nucleus of a parent cell into two identical daughter cells. Before anaphase begins, the replicated chromosomes, called sister chromatids, are aligned at along the equator of the cell on the equatorial plane. The sister chromatids are pairs of identical copies of DNA joined at a point called the centromere.

During anaphase, each pair of chromosomes is separated into two identical, independent chromosomes. The chromosomes are separated by a structure called the mitotic spindle. The mitotic spindle is made of many long proteins called microtubules, which are attached to a chromosome at one end and to the pole of a cell at the other end. The sister chromatids are separated simultaneously at their centromeres. The separated chromosomes are then pulled by the spindle to opposite poles of the cell.

Anaphase ensures that each daughter cell receives an identical set of chromosomes, and it is followed by the fifth and final phase of mitosis, known as telophase.