What kind of cells undergo mitosis?

Mitosis is a process of cell division that results in two genetically identical daughter cells and is primarily involved in growth, tissue repair, and asexual reproduction. Somatic cells, which are all the body cells except gametes, undergo mitosis for these purposes. This process ensures that when cells divide, they produce daughter cells that are identical to the original cell, maintaining the same chromosome number and genetic information.

In contrast, prokaryotic cells do not undergo mitosis because they reproduce asexually through binary fission, a simpler process that does not involve the complex stages of mitosis found in eukaryotic cells. Plant cells, while they do undergo mitosis, are a subset of eukaryotic somatic cells and do not encompass all cells. Gametes, or sex cells, instead undergo meiosis, a different type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half, leading to genetic diversity in sexual reproduction. This distinction highlights that while various cell types exist, mitosis specifically pertains to somatic cells.