Question

How do cytokinesis and telophase differ?

Answer 1

Cytokinesis is the division of cytoplasm between the parent and daughter cell. Telophase is the final step of mitosis where the cell divides into two daughter cells.

Complete answer:
Mitosis is a process of cell division in which one parent cell is divided into two daughter cells. The purpose of mitosis is growth and replacement of worn out cells. Before undergoing mitosis the cell replicates its genetic material so that the daughter cells have equal amounts of DNA. Only eukaryotic cells present in animals, fungi and plants, undergo mitosis.

Mitosis is completed in two steps- karyokinesis and cytokinesis. Karyokinesis is the process of division of a cell nucleus. Cytokinesis is the process of division of cell cytoplasm. Karyokinesis has five stages- interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. In interphase, there is no visible change in the cell but active synthesis of DNA. This is called the resting phase. In prophase, the DNA becomes coiled and supercoiled to produce short chromosomes.

The chromosomes duplicate and become paired. Spindle fibres appear and the nuclear membrane disappears. In metaphase, the chromosomes get attached to the spindle fibers and line up at the equatorial plane of the cell. In anaphase, the sister chromatids divide and are drawn apart towards opposite poles of the cell. A furrow starts in the cell membrane. In telophase the cleavage furrow starts deepening, the chromosomes reach opposite poles and are confined to two different daughter nuclei. The nuclear membrane is reformed and spindle fibres disappear. Karyokinesis is followed by cytokinesis. In cytokinesis, cleavage furrow deepens totally and two daughter cells are formed.

The difference between cytokinesis and telophase is that cytokinesis is the final step of cell division while telophase is the final step of karyokinesis.

Note: Cytokinesis and telophase are steps of cell division. The similarity between both these steps are,
1)Both of them occur in meiosis and mitosis as well.
2)Their major function is to produce daughter cells from the mother cell
3)They are both responsible for dividing the cell and its parts into two