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Prometaphase

cell cycle phase in higher eukaryotes which follows mitotic prophase and during which the nuclear envelope is disrupted and breaks into membrane vesicles, and the spindle microtubules enter the nuclear region

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 31, 2025
Entity authorityQ14763006
Source-derived summary

Prometaphase is the stage of mitosis following prophase and preceding metaphase in eukaryotic somatic cells. In prometaphase, the nuclear membrane breaks apart into numerous "membrane vesicles," and the chromosomes inside form protein structures called kinetochores. Kinetochore microtubules emerging from the centrosomes at the poles (ends) of the spindle reach the chromosomes and attach to the kinetochores, throwing the chromosomes into agitated motion. Other spindle microtubules make contact with microtubules coming from the opposite pole. Forces exerted by protein "motors" associated with spindle microtubules move the chromosomes toward the centre of the cell.

Prometaphase is not always presented as a distinct part of mitosis. In sources that do not use the term, the events described here are instead assigned to late prophase and early metaphase.

Types of microtubules

The microtubules are composed of two types, kinetochore microtubules and non-kinetochore microtubules.

Kinetochore microtubules begin searching for kinetochores to attach to.

A number of non-kinetochore microtubules or polar microtubules find and interact with corresponding nonkinetochore microtubules from the opposite centrosome to form the mitotic spindle.

Editorial summary

“Prometaphase” enters the record as cell cycle phase in higher eukaryotes which follows mitotic prophase and during which the nuclear envelope is disrupted and breaks into membrane vesicles, and the spindle microtubules enter the nuclear region. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Prometaphase, cell and cycle can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current 172-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Prometaphase, cell and cycle.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q14763006. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

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This entry incorporates text from Prometaphase” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.