Asymmetric cell divisions are pivotal throughout development and generate cell diversification within the embryo. The formation of polar bodies during oocyte meiotic maturation provides the most extreme case of size difference between two daughter cells. New work in this issue indicates that formin-2, a microfilament-binding protein, is required for the eccentric positioning of the meiotic spindle that determines these unequal divisions.
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Maro, B., Verlhac, MH. Polar body formation: new rules for asymmetric divisions. Nat Cell Biol 4, E281–E283 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1202-e281
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1202-e281
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