Question

Distinguish between metaphase of mitosis and metaphase I of meiosis.

Answer 1

Hint: Meta means second and phase means stage, hence metaphase is the second stage of meiosis and mitosis. The disintegration of the nuclear envelope marks the beginning of metaphase. The nuclear envelope disappears, and chromosomes spread through the cytoplasm of the cell. The chromosomes in this phase move into cytoplasm.

Complete answer: Mitosis is equational division in which number of chromosomes remains same and meiosis is reductional division in which chromosomes number get halved.

Now let us understand the difference between the metaphase of mitosis and metaphase I of meiosis.

Metaphase of mitosis	Metaphase I of meiosis
All chromosomes form a single plate in metaphase	Chromosomes form two parallel plates in metaphase I
On the equatorial plate, chromosomes appear two threaded.	On equatorial plate, chromosomes appear four threaded in metaphase I
Individual chromosome align at metaphase plate	Tetrad of chromosomes lie at the metaphase plate.
The chromosome of only one pair are put together so, no crossing over occur	The chromosomes of two pairs are put together. Thus, crossing over occurs.
Centromeres of chromosomes align at the equatorial plate.	Centromeres of chromosomes remain undivided.
Chromosome do not form loop	Chromosome forms loop.

Note: So we can conclude that metaphase of mitosis and metaphase I of meiosis is apart from each other yet they share some similarities too like in both of these the chromosomes get aligned at the equator. The disintegration of the nuclear envelope occurs in both of them. So, they are similar in some way also.