Which statement best describes a major difference in plant cell division compared with animal cell division?

• A. Centrioles are replicated.
• B. Spindle fibers are missing.
• C. Cell plates are synthesized.
• D. Homologous chromosomes are paired.

Answer: (D)

The main idea is how cytokinesis ends division in plant versus animal cells. Plant cells build a cell plate during cytokinesis. Vesicles derived from the Golgi fuse at the center of the cell to form this cell plate, which then develops into separating cell walls between the two daughter cells. Because plant cells have a rigid cell wall, they can’t form a contractile ring and a cleavage furrow like animal cells do.

In contrast, animal cells form a contractile actin ring that pinches the cell membrane inward, creating a cleavage furrow that splits the cell. This difference in how cytokinesis finishes the division is the characteristic distinction between plant and animal cell division.

Homologous chromosome pairing, meanwhile, occurs during meiosis (synapsis in prophase I) and is not a defining feature of mitotic division in either plants or animals. That’s why the statement about cell plates best captures the major difference.