Prophase: Chromosome Condensation — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2017Prophase which is the first stage of karyokinesis of mitosis follows the S and G2 phases of interphase. In the S and G2 phases, the new DNA molecules formed are not distinct but intertwined. Prophase is marked by the initiation of condensation of chromosomal material. The chromosomal material becomes untangled during the process of chromatin condensation. The centrosome, which had undergone duplication during S phase of interphase, now begins to move towards opposite poles of the cell. The completion of prophase can thus be marked by the following characteristic events:
Prophase is the first stage of mitosis where chromosomes condense from dispersed chromatin. NTA tests this by asking what happens to chromosomal material during prophase or which organelles move during this stage. Students commonly confuse prophase with metaphase, or forget that centrosome duplication actually occurs during S phase (interphase), not prophase itself. Remember: prophase involves chromosome condensation AND centrosome movement to opposite poles; the DNA is untangling from its intertwined S/G2 state. This concept appears rarely in direct MCQs but understanding prophase events is essential for answering questions on mitotic spindle formation and chromosome behavior.
Which of the following options gives the correct sequence of events during mitosis?
Through deep analysis of NEET and NTA, 88 of 90 questions from the NEET 2026 paper were matched straight from the MedicNEET Biology question bank.
88/90MedicNEET's Biology question bank is built from the same NCERT lines NTA picks repeatedly. Not random MCQs — questions crafted exactly like NTA crafts them.