Question: what is the difference between prophase of mitosis and prophase 1 of meiosis?
Answer: In mitosis, prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase occur once. Chromosomes condense and the centrosomes begin to form an early spindle. Meiotic prophase I is much longer that mitotic prophase. During prophase I homologous chromosomes make contacts with each other called chiasmata and “crossing over” occurs.