Difference Between Telophase and Prophase (With Table)

Telophase occurs at the end of meiosis and mitosis. It refers to the fourth stage of cell development that occurs after anaphase. Telophase occurs when the reproduced, paired chromosomes are split and dragged to opposing sides of the cell, or poles. The daughter chromosomes travel to the opposite sides of the spindle fibers at this stage.

Prophase is derived from the Greek words signifying “before” and “stage.” In both mitosis and meiosis, it is the initial step of cell division. When the cell reaches prophase, DNA has already been duplicated beginning after interphase. When you examine under a microscope at a cell in prophase, you will notice thick strands of DNA free in the cell.

Comparison Table Between Telophase and Prophase

What is Telophase?

Telophase is the fifth and final stage of mitosis, the process by which the duplicated genetic material held in the nucleus of a parent cell is separated into two identical daughter cells. Telophase occurs when the replicated, paired chromosomes are split and dragged to opposing sides of the cell, or poles. The chromosomes start to uncoil, making them more scattered and less compact. Along with telophase, the cell goes through cytokinesis, which separates the mother cell’s cytoplasm into two daughter cells.

The chromosomes begin to decondense during telophase, the spindle disintegrates, and the nuclear membranes and nucleoli re-form. The mother cell’s cytoplasm splits to generate two daughter cells, each with the same number and type of chromosomes as the mother cell. Interphase is the phase or period that follows the conclusion of mitosis.

Telophase is a phase that isolates the replicated genetic material. That a parent cell’s nucleus carries onto two identical daughter cells. During telophase, however, each pair of genes has a nuclear membrane around it. These are the membranes that separate the nuclear DNA from the cytoplasm. Furthermore, the genes begin uncoiling, which causes them to disperse and reduces their influence. In addition to telophase, the cell goes through a process known as cytokinesis.

It restores the effects of prophase and pro-metaphase throughout this process. As the genes reach the cell poles, a nuclear envelope reassembles around each set of chromatids. After then, the nucleoli return, and the texture of the genes begins to change. Then it returns to the chromatin, which grows and is present throughout the interphase. The mitotic spindle disassembles, and the remaining spindle microtubules depolymerize (breaks down to monomers).

Telophase contributes around 2% of the cycle’s length. Typically, the procedure begins before the late telophase. When finished, it separates the two daughter nuclei between two different daughter cells. The telophase is largely driven by the dephosphorylation of mitotic cyclin-dependent kinase substrates.

What is Prophase?

Prophase is the first step of mitosis, which is the procedure by which the identical genetic information held in a parental cell’s nucleus is split into two daughter cells. The nucleus’s mix of DNA and proteins, described as chromatin, consolidates during prophase.

The chromatin coils and compacts culminate in the development of visible chromosomes. Chromosomes are made up of a single, highly structured piece of DNA. Sister chromatids are chromosomes that have been duplicated and have an X shape. The sister chromatids are two identical versions of DNA that are connected at a place known as the centromere.

The mitotic spindle, a structure, then begins to develop. The mitotic spindle is composed of long proteins known as microtubules, which begin to develop at opposing ends of the cell. The spindle will be in charge of dividing the sister chromatids into two cells. Prophase is succeeded by prometaphase, the second phase of mitosis.

Meiosis requires two rounds of chromosomal segregation, resulting in two prophases, prophase I and prophase II. Since homologous chromosomes must pair and share genetic information, prophase I am the most complicated phase of meiosis. Mitotic prophase is quite comparable to prophase II. The most noticeable distinction between prophase in plant cells and animal cells is in the absence of centrioles in plant cells. 

Main Differences Between Telophase and Prophase

1. Telophase is the last stage of mitosis, whereas prophase is the starting stage of mitosis.
2. During telophase, chromosomes loosen up whereas condensation begins in prophase.
3. In telophase, a nuclear membrane forms around each set of chromosomes at the pole whereas, in prophase, the nuclear membrane begins to dissolve.
4. During telophase, a nucleolus forms in each daughter nucleus, but during prophase, the nucleolus begins to dissolve.
5. In telophase, chromosomes are found at opposing poles of the cell, whereas in prophase, chromosomes are randomly distributed throughout the cell.
6. Telophase occurs in haploid cells meanwhile prophase occurs in diploid cells

Conclusion

Mitosis concludes at telophase, or when the chromosomes reach the poles. After then, the nuclear membrane recovers, and the chromosomes begin to decondense into their interphase conformations. Cytokinesis, or the separation of the cytoplasm into two daughter cells, occurs after telophase. The genetic makeup of the daughter cells produced by this procedure is identical.

Meanwhile, mitosis initiates during prophase when chromosomes recruit condensing factors and begin the condensation process that will last until metaphase. During prophase, cohesin is mainly eliminated from the arms of sister chromatids in most species, permitting the individual sister chromatids to be differentiated.

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982206013467
2. https://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article-abstract/41/1/321/65664