Question

what role does the kinetochore play in mitosis?

Answer 1

If you've talked about Mitosis in class,
you probably know that during Mitosis,
thin, string-like spindle fibers attach to the chromosomes, to pull them apart.

Take a look at this picture:
http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/chromosome1.gif

"Kinetochore" is a protein.

It's part of the chromatids,
and you can find it on the centromere.

When the spindle fibers attach to the centromere,
they actually attach to a very specific part of the centromere, called the "kinetochore."