Kinetochores start, control and supervise the striking movements of chromosomes during cell division. During mitosis, which occurs after chromosomes are duplicated during S phase, two sister chromatids are held together each with its own kinetochore which face in opposing directions and attach to opposite poles of the mitotic spindle. Following the transition from metaphase to anaphase, the sister chromatids separate from each other, and the individual kinetochores on each chromatid drive their movement to the spindle poles that will define the two new daughter cells. Thus, the kinetochore is essential for the chromosome segregation that is classically associated with mitosis and meiosis.