All living organisms are composed of cells that live their lives, divide and develop. The division process can occur in two completely opposite ways, which have the same stages: meiosis and mitosis.
For living organisms, the cells of which contain the nucleus, mitosis is characteristic . These are mainly animals, plants and mushrooms. In science, this method of division is called vegetative propagation. Meiosis is also a method of division, but its feature is a halving of the number of chromosomes.
Let's see how mitosis differs from meiosis. Each process goes through similar stages, however, each of them is characterized by features that are the main differences.
The first stage is the process of division. The process of mitosis involves the division of chromosomes. Each of them forms two new ones, which are distributed between the two appearing cells. Science has proven that the future fate of new cells can have a completely different outcome. So, for example, they can further divide, or division will continue one cell. It is possible to terminate the process of division simultaneously in two cells.
The meiosis process is a little different. It is based on two divisions. The first is accompanied by a decrease in the number of chromosomes exactly two times. A diploid cell breaks down into two haploid cells. Each chromosome is characterized by the presence of two chromatids. The second division does not imply a decrease in the number of chromosomes. As a result of the second division, four new cells are formed. In each cell, one chromosome and one chromatid are localized. Meiosis and mitosis, despite their similarity, have differences already in the first stage.
The second stage is conjugation. The first cell division during meiosis involves the union of homologous chromosomes. The mitosis process is characterized by the complete absence of any type of mating. The following is the alignment of chromosomes. Mitosis is characterized by the presence of paired chromosomes, but their uniform distribution at the equator does not occur in pairs, but separately. At the same time, the process of meiosis suggests a completely different effect. Here, alignment along the equator takes place in pairs.
A comparison of the processes of mitosis and meiosis showed that differences appear not only in the process of division, but also in the end. Mitosis becomes the basis for the formation of a pair of somatic and diploid cells. It should be noted that hereditary factors remain throughout the process. As a result of meiosis, two pairs of germ cells of a haploid nature are formed. As for the question of heredity, it is not preserved and ultimately completely changed.
However, the most important difference lies in the nature of the reproduction process. Meiosis is a process of sexual reproduction, which, as a rule, proceeds exclusively in germ cells at the stage of maturation. Mitosis is the basis of asexual reproduction of somatic cells. Moreover, it is mitosis that is the only way for somatic cells to recover.
In addition, meiosis and mitosis have significant differences in the nature of their mission. Meiosis accompanies the maintenance of a constant number of chromosomes and stimulates the appearance of new ones. They include hereditary inclinations. Mitosis is based on the doubling of chromosomes. It takes place on the basis of longitudinal division. Further, the formed chromosomes disperse in daughter cells. The initial information is transmitted in full and does not change. It is the process of mitosis that underlies the development of organisms consisting of many cells. It can be concluded that meiosis and mitosis, although they follow the same goal, have a huge number of differences and opposites.