Describe the events that occur during interkinesis and meiosis II. How are these events similar to mitosis; how do they differ? What is the end result of meiosis II?
Interkinesis is the short period between the two division sequences of meiosis. No replication of genetic materials occurs during meiotic interkinesis since chromosomes are already double-stranded. The second division sequence, called meiosis II, is essentially mitotic in terms of mechanics although it achieves a different end than mitosis. Each double-stranded chromosome moves onto its own independent microtubule in the spindle that forms in prophase II; microtubules attached to the chromosomes at their centromeres reach from the chromosomes to the poles of the cell in metaphase II; in anaphase II, centromeres uncouple and single-stranded chromosomes move away from each other toward the poles; and the new nuclei that form in telophase II are haploid like the nuclei of telophase I but possess single-stranded rather than double-stranded chromosomes.
