focus on cell division abstract
Nature Cell Biology 3, E28 - E34 (2001)
doi:10.1038/35050669
The spindle: a dynamic assembly of microtubules and motors
Torsten Wittmann1,4, Anthony Hyman2 & Arshad Desai3,5
Abstract
In all eukaryotes, a microtubule-based structure known as the spindle is responsible for accurate chromosome segregation during cell division. Spindle assembly and function require localized regulation of microtubule dynamics and the activity of a variety of microtubule-based motor proteins. Recent work has begun to uncover the molecular mechanisms that underpin this process. Here we describe the structural and dynamic properties of the spindle, and introduce the current concepts regarding how a bipolar spindle is assembled and how it functions to segregate chromosomes.
- Department of Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute , 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, D-01307 Dresden, Germany
- Department of Cell Biology, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
- e-mail: twittman@scripps.edu
- e-mail: desai@embl-heidelberg.de
