Interphase

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Interphase

Interphase is the phase of the cell cycle

Cell cycle

The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that take place in a cell leading to its division and duplication . In cells without a nucleus , the cell cycle occurs via a process termed binary fission....
in which the cell spends the majority of its time and performs the majority of its purposes including preparation for cell division

Cell division

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Encyclopedia

Interphase is the phase of the cell cycle

Cell cycle

Cell division

Cell division is a process by which a cell , called the parent cell, divides into two or more cells, called daughter cells. Cell division is usually a small segment of a larger cell cycle....
. Interphase is considered to be the 'living' phase of the cell, in which the cell obtains nutrients, grows, reads its DNA, and conducts other "normal" cell functions. The majority of eukaryotic cells spend most of their time in interphase. Interphase does not describe a cell that is merely resting but is rather an active preparation for cell division. A common misconception is that interphase is the first stage of mitosis, however, prophase

Prophase

Prophase is a stage of mitosis in which the chromatin condenses into a highly ordered structure called a chromosome in which the chromatin becomes visible....
is actually the first stage.

In interphase, the cell gets itself ready for Mitosis

Mitosis

Mitosis is the process in which a eukaryotic cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, into two identical sets in two daughter nuclei....
or Meiosis

Meiosis

In biology or life science, meiosis is a process of reductional division in which the number of chromosomes per cell is halved. In animals, meiosis always results in the formation of gametes, while in other organisms it can give rise to spores....
. Somatic cell

Somatic cell

Somatic cells are any cell s forming the body of an organism, as opposed to germline cells. In mammals, germline cells are the spermatozoa and ova which fuse during fertilization to produce a cell called a zygote, from which the entire mammalian embryo develops....
s, or normal diploid cells of the body, go through mitosis in order to reproduce themselves through cell division. Whereas diploid germ cell

Germ cell

Germ cells are progenitors of the gametes. These singled-out cells move through the gut to the developing gonads and undergo mitotic Cell proliferation followed by meiosis and Cellular differentiation into either eggs or sperm ....
s (i.e. primary spermatocyte

Spermatocyte

A spermatocyte is a male gametocyte which is derived from a spermatogonium. It lies in the seminiferous tubules of the testis, and divides to form sperm cells through the process of spermatogenesis....
s and primary oocyte

Oocyte

An oocyte, ovocyte, or rarely ocyte, is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in biological reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or ovum cell....
s) go through meiosis in order to create haploid gametes (i.e. sperm

Sperm

The term sperm is derived from the Greek word sperma and refers to the male reproductive Cell . In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell....
and ova

Ovum

An ovum is a haploid female reproductive cell or gamete. Both animals and embryophytes have ova. The term ovule is used for the young ovum of an animal, as well as the plant structure that carries the female gametophyte and egg cell and develops into a seed after fertilization....
) for the purpose of sexual reproduction.

Under a microscope

Microscope

A microscope is an Laboratory equipment for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy....
interphase can be visually recognized because the nuclear membrane is still intact, the chromatin

Chromatin

Chromatin is the complex combination of DNA, RNA, and protein that makes up chromosomes. It is found inside the cell nucleus of Eukaryote cell , and within the nucleoid in prokaryotic cells....
has not yet condensed and chromosome

Chromosome

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein that is found in Cell . A chromosome is a single piece of DNA that contains many genes, regulatory sequence and other genetic sequence....
s are not visible, though the nucleolus

Nucleolus

The nucleolus is a non-membrane bound structure found within the cell nucleus in which messenger RNA is Transcription , and is composed of protein and nucleic acids....
may be visible as an enlarged dark spot. The centriole

Centriole

A centriole is a barrel-shaped organelle found in most animal eukaryotic Cell s, though absent in higher plants and most fungi. The walls of each centriole are usually composed of nine triplets of microtubules ....
s and spindle fibers are also not yet visible, though the centrosome

Centrosome

In cell biology, the centrosome is an organelle that serves as the main microtubule organizing center of the animal cell as well as a regulator of cell-cycle progression....
which contains and organizes them may be visible near the nucleus.

Stages of Interphase

There are three stages of interphase, each phase ends when a cellular checkpoint

Cell cycle checkpoint

Cell cycle checkpoints are control mechanisms that ensure the fidelity of cell division in eukaryotic cell . These checkpoints verify whether the processes at each phase of the cell cycle have been accurately completed before progression into the next phase....
checks the accuracy of the stage's completion before proceeding to the next. The stages of interphase are:

G₁
G1 phase

The G1 phase is a period in the cell cycle during interphase, after cytokinesis and before the S phase. For many cells, this phase is the major period of cell growth during its lifespan....
(Gap 1), in which the cell grows and functions normally. During this time, a lot of protein synthesis occurs and the cell grows (to about double its original size). If the cell is not to divide again, it will remain in this phase.

Synthesis
S phase

The S phase, short for synthesis phase, is a period in the cell cycle during interphase, between G1 phase and the G2 phase. Following G1, the cell enters the S stage, when DNA DNA synthesis or DNA replication occurs....
(S), in which the cell duplicates its DNA (via semi-conservative replication).

G₂
G2 phase

G2 phase is the third, final, and usually the shortest subphase during interphase within the cell cycle in which the cell undergoes a period of rapid growth to prepare for mitosis....
(Gap 2), in which the cell resumes its growth in preparation for mitosis.