What happens to sister chromatids during anaphase?

During anaphase, sister chromatids are critically involved in the orderly separation and distribution necessary for cell division. At this stage of mitosis, the sister chromatids are pulled apart from each other as the spindle fibers attach to their centromeres. This action occurs due to the shortening of the spindle fibers, which effectively draws each chromatid toward opposite poles of the cell. This movement ensures that each new daughter cell receives an identical set of chromosomes.

The process of separation and movement is essential for maintaining genetic stability as it allows each daughter cell to inherit one copy of each chromosome. This is a vital step in cell division, setting the stage for the cell to undergo the later stages successfully, such as telophase and cytokinesis. The other options describe different phases or aspects of cell division but do not accurately reflect what occurs during anaphase.