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Anaphase

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State

Anaphase is the stage where cohesin proteins degrade, sister chromatids separate at the centromere, and each resulting chromosome is pulled rapidly toward its pole.

Show

The moment cohesin breaks down, each chromatid becomes an independent chromosome, and the cell elongates as the two sets separate.

Watch for

A chromatid is called a chromosome only after separation — the terms are not interchangeable before anaphase.