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Cell division

Burning the spindle at both ends

Nature volume 427, pages 300–301 (2004)Cite this article

Accurate transmission of the genome during cell division requires the physical separation of replicated chromosomes. The identities of two molecular motors needed to do the job in fruitflies are now revealed.

A dramatic event in the life of a cell is its transformation into two genetically identical progeny. This is achieved during mitosis, when an exact complement of chromosomes is partitioned to each half of the cell, just before it pinches into two1. Errors in this process can result in cell death or contribute to cancer. The mitotic spindle — the apparatus that distributes the chromosomes — has been studied for decades. Nonetheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying chromosome transport have remained elusive. On page 364 of this issue2, however, Rogers et al. describe two related motor proteins that are essential for spindle dynamics and chromosome segregation in fruitflies.

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Figure 1: Achieving chromosome segregation in fruitfly cells.

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  1. the Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720-3200, California, USA

    Rebecca W. Heald

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  1. Rebecca W. Heald
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Heald, R. Burning the spindle at both ends. Nature 427, 300–301 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/427300a

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/427300a

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