Anaphase is the fourth phase of mitosis, which is the process that separates the duplicated genetic material carried in the nucleus of a parent cell into two identical daughter cells. Before anaphase begins, the replicated chromosomes, called sister chromatids, are aligned at the equator of the cell on the equatorial plane. During anaphase, each pair of chromosomes is separated into two identical, independent chromosomes. The chromosomes are separated by a structure called the mitotic spindle, which is made of many long proteins called microtubules, which are attached to a chromosome at one end and to the pole of a cell at the other end. The sister chromatids are separated simultaneously at their centromeres, and the separated chromosomes are then pulled by the spindle to opposite poles of the cell. Anaphase ensures that each daughter cell receives an identical set of chromosomes, and it is followed by the fifth and final phase of mitosis, known as telophase.