Mitosis

Multicellular organisms, for instance, humans are composed of millions of cells. These cells go
through several stages during their life, collectively referred to as a cell cycle. The mitotic cycle
refers to a type of cell cycle in which the division of cells occurs by the process of mitosis.
Mitosis is a process of division of the nucleus which produces two genetically identical nuclei
that are also genetically identical to the parent nucleus.

The mitotic cell cycle is critical for creating new daughter cells from the parent cells. The new
cells replace the older worn-out cells that are not functioning properly. The process of mitosis
represents the reproduction process at a lower level.

Importance of Mitosis
The mitosis process is extremely important and is critical to many biological processes such as
the growth of multicellular organisms, replacement of cells and repair of tissues, and asexual
reproduction.

Growth of multicellular organisms

The two daughter cells produced are genetically identical to each other, i.e. they are clones.
These daughter cells contain the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell.
This helps unicellular zygotes to grow into multicellular organisms
Growth may happen across the entire body of the organism or may be limited to specific regions
like meristems (growing points) of the plants
Replacement of cells & repair of tissues
Mitosis and cell division can repair the damaged tissues
Because cells are dying continuously, hence they need to be replaced continuously by genetically
identical cells.
For example, in humans, cell replacement specifically occurs quickly in the lining of the gut and
skin.
Few animals like zebrafish and axolotls can regenerate body parts. Zebrafish regenerate fins and
axolotls regenerate legs and tails along with the other parts.
Asexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction refers to the production of a new individual of species through one parent
organism. In asexual reproduction, the offspring produced is genetically identical to the parent.
Cell division in the unicellular organism (organism made up of one cell only) like Amoeba
results in the reproduction of offspring that is genetically identical.
New individuals in multicellular organisms (as observed in several species of plants) grow from
the parent organism through cell division and then detach, i.e. bud off from the parent in different
ways. The examples include budding in Hydra and yeast and runners from strawberries.