Biology · Ch 7 — Cell Division
Cytokinesis
Cytokinesis
Cytokinesis is the division of the cytoplasm that produces two separate daughter cells once karyokinesis is complete. In an animal cell, the process starts with a constriction that appears generally at the cell's equator; this constriction deepens progressively and eventually meets in the centre, splitting the cell into two. Because it forms this way, the plane of cytoplasmic division is perpendicular to the spindle axis — this furrowing mechanism is characteristic of animal cells. …
What this figure shows. Two side-by-side panels. The animal-cell panel shows a ring of contractile microfilaments constricting the plasma membrane inward at the cell's equator, forming a deepening cleavage furrow that eventually meets in the middle and pinches the cell into two daughter cells. The plant-cell panel shows, instead of a furrow, small vesicles arising from the parent cell's machinery and fusing together at the cell's centre to build a disc-shaped cell plate, which then grows outward until it meets the existing side walls …