There are many unicellular plants and animals that divide differently from the pattern followed by mitosis. Such divisions go by the general name amitosis.

In some algal and fungal forms there is direct division of the cell nuclei. Also some old cells of higher plants show such direct division of nuclei.

In some cases there is free nuclear division where the cells are not separated by cell walls and several nuclei remain scattered in the cytoplasm of large cells. Such cells are called coenocytic cells.

In yeast, the cells divide by a process called budding. Here the protoplast of parent cell bulges out to which a daughter nucleus migrates later to form a daughter cell.