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Sister chromatids

 

 
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Sister chromatids
 
 
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Sister chromatids are identical copies of a chromosome connected by a centromere
Centromere

A centromere is a region of DNA typically found near the middle of a chromosome where two sister chromatids come in contact. It is involved in cell division as the point of mitotic spindle....
. Compare sister chromatids to homologous chromosomes
Homologous chromosome

Homologous chromosomes are chromosomes in a biological cell that pair during meiosis, or alternatively, non-identical chromosomes that contain information for the same biological features and contain the same genes at the same locus but possibly different genetic information, called alleles, at those genes....
, which are the two different copies of the same chromosome that diploid organisms (like humans) inherit, one from each parent. In other words, sister chromatids contain the same genes and same alleles, and homologous chromosomes contain the same genes but two copies of alleles, each of which might or might not be the same as each other. A full set of sister chromatids is created during the S subphase of interphase
Interphase

Interphase is the phase of the cell cycle in which the cell spends the majority of its time and performs the majority of its purposes including preparation for cell division....
, when all the DNA in a cell is replicated.






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Sister chromatids are identical copies of a chromosome connected by a centromere
Centromere

A centromere is a region of DNA typically found near the middle of a chromosome where two sister chromatids come in contact. It is involved in cell division as the point of mitotic spindle....
. Compare sister chromatids to homologous chromosomes
Homologous chromosome

Homologous chromosomes are chromosomes in a biological cell that pair during meiosis, or alternatively, non-identical chromosomes that contain information for the same biological features and contain the same genes at the same locus but possibly different genetic information, called alleles, at those genes....
, which are the two different copies of the same chromosome that diploid organisms (like humans) inherit, one from each parent. In other words, sister chromatids contain the same genes and same alleles, and homologous chromosomes contain the same genes but two copies of alleles, each of which might or might not be the same as each other. A full set of sister chromatids is created during the S subphase of interphase
Interphase

Interphase is the phase of the cell cycle in which the cell spends the majority of its time and performs the majority of its purposes including preparation for cell division....
, when all the DNA in a cell is replicated. Identical chromosome pairs are separated into two different cells during 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 cellular division.

There is evidence that, in some species, sister chromatids are the preferred template for DNA repair. They are very strong, found within the cell during meiosis.