Why is telophase the shortest phase of mitosis?
In telophase, the daughter chromosomes arrive at the spindle poles and are eventually redistributed into bulk chromatin. Individual chromosomes begin to decondense back into chromatin at this stage and start to become less clearly defined. Polymerized microtubular networks that formed the mitotic spindle during metaphase and anaphase are redistributed into cytoskeletal components, and RNA synthesis commences once again in the nucleus. The process of cytokinesis, where the cytoplasm is divided by cleavage into two daughter cells, also starts sometime in late anaphase and continues through telophase. As the chromosomes at this stage are already aligned on the mitotic axe and are already attached to the spindles, the control exerted by the mitotic spindle checkpoint (regulated by Aurora B and Polo kinases) is no longer necessary. This checkpoint, in fact, is there to ensure that all chromosomes (made up of 2 sister chromatides) are equally distributed and attached to the kinetocore, all s
