Life starts from the cell; with the help of cell division, organisms can grow and reproduce.
The organisms with single-cell, cell reproduction happens to give life to the next generation, whereas, in multi-celled organisms, cell division happens for reproduction as well as growth & replacement of worn-out cells of the body.
Cell division is a complex and multi-stage process. In eukaryotic cells, mitosis and meiosis are the two processes through which new cells get reproduced.
A similarity exists between them due to the fact of involvement of diploid cells, i.e. division of cells happens through the two sets of chromosomes, but the purpose of the process is different.
Key Takeaways
- Mitosis is a cell division process that results in two identical daughter cells with the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell.
- Meiosis is a cell division process that results in four genetically diverse daughter cells with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell.
- Mitosis is essential for growth, repair, and asexual reproduction, while meiosis is essential for sexual reproduction.
Mitosis vs Meiosis
The difference between Mitosis and Meiosis can be identified through how and what cells get reproduce.
In Mitosis, a process of asexual reproduction, a cell is divided into two, thus creating a duplicate with an identical number of chromosomes in an individual-produced diploid cell, i.e. somatic cell.
Mitosis is essential as it replaces the damaged or dead cells that have a limited life. Examples include skin cells, blood cells, fat cells, or any cell other than sex cells.
In Meiosis, a type of sexual cellular reproduction, the number of chromosomes is decreased by half within the division of homologous chromosomes, creating two haploid cells. It is responsible for genetic recombination, i.e. new gene combinations.
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Comparison Table
| Parameter of Comparison | Mitosis | Meiosis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mitosis is an asexual cell division process that occurs in all types of body cells except sex cells. | Meiosis is a sexual cell division process through gametogenesis that happens in meiocytes. |
| Place of Cell Division | Somatic Cells | Germ Cells |
| Cell Division | Once | Twice |
| Number of Daughter Cells | Two daughter cells are reproduced. | Four daughter cells are reproduced. |
| Reproduction Mode | Asexual Reproduction. | Sexual Reproduction. |
| Discovered By | Walther Flemming. | Oscar Hertwig. |
| Phases | One complete cycle pass-through 1. Prophase 2. Metaphase 3. Anaphase 4. Telophase | One complete cycle pass-through Meiosis Phase 1 1. Prophase 1 2. Metaphase 1 3. Anaphase 1 4. Telophase 1 Meiosis Phase 2 5. Prophase 2 6. Metaphase 2 7. Anaphase 2 8. Telophase 2 |
| Functions | Mitosis happens in cellular growth and majorly during the body’s healing and repairing mechanism i.e. replacing the damaged or dead cells that have limited life. | Meiosis happens in sexual reproduction and gamete formation. This manages the maintenance of chromosome counts, i.e. genetic diversity. |
| Mother Cells | It can be haploid or diploid. | Always diploid. |
| Cell Crossing Over | No` | Yes |
| Number of Chromosomes | The number remains the same. | The number was reduced by half. |
What is Mitosis?
Mitosis is a process of asexual reproduction of cells. In this, the nucleus of the cell gets divided into two, i.e. daughter nuclei.
The number of chromosomes in each daughter cell is equal to the parent nucleus.
Mitosis is essential for eukaryote cells that are single-celled and multi-celled it performs the functions of repair mechanism and body growth in the process of Mitosis, species, type of cells, place, and temperature matter.
Mitosis was discovered by a scientist named “Walther Flemming”. It is also referred to as a continuous process of cell division.
Mitosis cycle span across four stages or phases, which are
- Prophase – It is a shorter stage where the chromosome becomes condensed and thick, the nuclear membrane disintegrates, and the formation of spindle fibres starts.
- Metaphase – Here, duplicate chromatids of the chromosomes get aligned to the cell midline.
- Anaphase – In this stage, with the help of spindle fibres, the separation of each chromatid pair starts and moves towards the opposite direction to the end of the cell.
- Telophase – In this stage, decondensation of the chromosomes happens. The formation of the nuclear membrane and spindle fibers starts again around the nucleoli, and the cytoplasm gets divided into two daughter cells, each having the same number of chromosomes.
Chromatids in Mitosis are thin and long.
What is Meiosis?
Meiosis is a process of cell division through sexual reproduction. In this, Meiosis I and Meiosis II happens where two nuclear division of cell happens and four sex cells or haploid gametes are produced.
Each cell in meiosis carries a pair of chromosomes, i.e., a random distribution of parental and maternal chromosomes happens among cells.
Non-identical sex cells are produced in Meiosis through two consecutive meiotic nuclear divisions, i.e. Meiosis I and Meiosis II.
Both, Meiosis I and Meiosis II are a four-stage process that is Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, and Telophase.
Cells get duplicated in Interphase where chromosomes get condense and progress towards the opposite end and try to get paired with their homologous, during crossing over.
Post this; two cells are formed with this cell division. This ends the process of Meiosis I and Meiosis II get started with these newly formed cells.
These two new cells again get separated into two that contain the decoupled chromatids. After this, four different haploid cells are formed which are genetically different.
Chromatids in Meiosis are thick and short. Meiosis is an integral process for life continuity and genetic variation of living organisms.
Meiosis was discovered by the scientist named “Oscar Hertwig”.
Main Differences Between Mitosis and Meiosis
To summarize, the main difference between Mitosis and Meiosis are,
- Mitosis is an asexual reproduction process, whereas Meiosis is a sexual reproduction process.
- In Mitosis, division of body cells happens, whereas in Meiosis, division of sex cells happens.
- In Mitosis, cell division happens only once, whereas, in Meiosis, division of cells happens twice.
- In Mitosis, the number of chromosomes remains the same, whereas, in Meiosis, the number of chromosomes gets reduced to half.
- In Mitosis, two daughter cells are reproduced, whereas, in Meiosis, four daughter cells are reproduced.
- Mitosis is responsible for cellular growth and body healing or repairing mechanism i.e. replacing the damaged or dead or cells that have limited life, whereas Meiosis manages the maintenance of chromosomes counts i.e. managing the life continuity and genetic variation of living organisms.
- https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.genet.35.102401.091334
- https://www.pnas.org/content/100/1/193.short
- https://rupress.org/jcb/article-abstract/22/3/521/16380
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
