What is produced during mitosis?

During mitosis, the primary outcome is the production of two identical daughter cells. This process is crucial for growth, tissue repair, and asexual reproduction in multicellular organisms. Mitosis involves a series of well-defined stages—prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase—where the replicated chromosomes are separated and evenly distributed into two new nuclei.

As the cells complete mitosis, they undergo cytokinesis, which divides the cytoplasm and cell membrane, resulting in two separate cells that are clones of the original parent cell. Each daughter cell has the same genetic material, allowing for the maintenance of genetic consistency within the organism.

While DNA copies are made during the S phase of the cell cycle prior to mitosis, the process of mitosis itself directly leads to the formation of the two daughter cells, not the creation of new DNA strands. The production of gametes occurs during meiosis, which is an entirely different process involving reduction of chromosome numbers. Similarly, RNA strands are synthesized during transcription, which is outside the scope of cell division. Therefore, the option that accurately describes the result of mitosis is the formation of two identical cells.