Abstract
Mitosis has been studied since the early 1880s, to the extent that we now have a detailed, but still incomplete, description of spindle dynamics and mechanics, a sense of potential mechanochemical and regulatory mechanisms at a molecular level, and a long list of mitotic proteins. Here we present a personal view of how far we have come, and where we need to go to fully understand the mechanisms involved in mitosis.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Flemming, W. Zellsubstanz, Kern und Zelltheilung (FCW Vogel, Leipzig, 1882).
Wilson, E.B. The Cell in Development and Heredity 3rd edn (Macmillan, New York, 1928).
Schrader, F. Mitosis, the Movements of Chromosomes in Cell Division 2nd edn (ed. Dunn, L. C.; Columbia Univ. Press, New York, 1953).
Mazia, D. in The Cell Vol. 3 (eds Brachet, J. & Mirsky, A. E.) 77–412. (Academic, New York, 1961).
Dustin, P. Microtubules 2nd edn (Springer, New York, 1984).
Bajer, A. S. & Mole-Bajer, J. Spindle Dynamics and Chromosome Movements (Academic, New York, 1972).
Inoue, S. & Sato, H. J. Gen. Physiol. 50, S259–S292 (1967).
Inoue, S. J. Cell Biol. 91, S131–S247 (1981).
Inoue, S. & Salmon, E. D. Mol. Biol. Cell 6, 1619–1640 (1995).
Nicklas, R. B. Science 275, 632–637 (1997).
Rieder, C. L. & Salmon, E. D. Trends Cell Biol. 8, 310–318 (1998).
Sharp, D. J., Rogers, G. C. & Scholey, J. M. Nature 407, 41–47 (2000).
Nasmyth, K., Peters, J. M. & Uhlmann, F. Science 288, 1379–1385 (2000).
Hirano, T. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 69, 115–144 (2000).
Waizenegger, I. C., Hauf, S., Meinke, A. & Peters, J. M. Cell 103, 399–410 (2000).
Ris, H. Biol. Bull. 85, 164–179 (1943).
Ris, H. Biol. Bull. 96, 90–106 (1949).
Ostergren, G. Hereditas 37, 85–156 (1951).
Brinkley, B. R. & Stubblefield, E. Chromosoma 19, 28–43 (1966).
Borisy, G. G. & Taylor, E. W. J. Cell Biol. 34, 525–533 (1967).
Mohri, H. Nature 217, 1053–1054 (1968).
Weisenberg, R. C. Science 177, 1104–1105 (1972).
Margolis, R. L. & Wilson, L. Cell 13, 1–8 (1978).
Mitchison, T. J. & Kirschner, M. W. Nature 312, 232–236 (1984).
Kristofferson, D., Mitchison, T. & Kirschner, M. J. Cell Biol. 102, 1007–1019 (1986).
Salmon, E. D., Leslie, R. J., Saxton, W. M., Karow, M. L. & McIntosh, J. R. J. Cell Biol. 99, 2165–2174 (1984).
Saxton, W. M. et al. J. Cell Biol. 99, 2175–2186 (1984).
Mitchison, T., Evans, L., Schulze, E. & Kirschner, M. Cell 45, 515–527 (1986).
Maddox, P. S., Bloom, K. S. & Salmon, E. D. Nature Cell Biol. 2, 36–41 (2000).
Mallavarapu, A., Sawin, K. & Mitchison, T. Curr. Biol. 9, 1423–1426 (1999).
Nicklas, R. B. J. Cell Biol. 97, 542–548 (1983).
Begg, D. A. & Ellis, G. W. J. Cell Biol. 82, 528–541 (1979).
Aist, J. R. & Berns, M. W. J. Cell Biol. 91, 446–458 (1981).
McDonald, K. L., O'Toole, E. T., Mastronarde, D. N. & McIntosh, J. R. J. Cell Biol. 118, 369–383 (1992).
Ding, R., McDonald, K. L. & McIntosh, J. R. J. Cell Biol. 120, 141–151 (1993).
Winey, M. et al. J. Cell Biol. 129, 1601–1615 (1995).
McIntosh, J. R. & Euteneuer, U. J. Cell Biol. 98, 525–533 (1984).
Gorbsky, G. J., Sammak, P. J. & Borisy, G. G. J. Cell Biol. 106, 1185–1192 (1988).
Forer, A. J. Cell Biol. 25, 95–117 (1965).
Mitchison, T. J. & Salmon, E. D. J. Cell Biol. 119, 569–582 (1992).
Desai, A., Maddox, P. S., Mitchison, T. J. & Salmon, E. D. J. Cell Biol. 141, 703–713 (1998).
Hays, T. S., Wise, D. & Salmon, E. D. J. Cell Biol. 93, 374–389 (1982).
Rieder, C. L. & Salmon, E. D. J. Cell Biol. 124, 223–233 (1994).
McIntosh, J. R., Hepler, R. K. & vanWie, D. G. Nature 224, 659–663 (1969).
Koshland, D. E., Mitchison, T. J. & Kirschner, M. W. Nature 331, 499–504 (1988).
Lombillo, V. A., Stewart, R. J. & McIntosh, J. R. Nature 373, 161–164 (1995).
Walczak, C. E., Vernos, I., Mitchison, T. J., Karsenti, E. & Heald, R. Curr. Biol. 8, 903–913 (1998).
Straight, A. F., Sedat, J. W. & Murray, A. W. J. Cell Biol. 143, 687–694 (1998).
Savoian, M. S., Goldberg, M. L. & Rieder, C. L. Nature Cell Biol. 3, 948–952 (2001).
Murray, A. W. Nature 359, 599–604 (1992).
Li, R. & Murray, A. W. Cell 66, 519–531 (1991) [published erratum Cell 79, 388; 1994].
Hoyt, M. A., Totis, L. & Roberts, B. T. Cell 66, 507–517 (1991).
Abrieu, A., Kahana, J. A., Wood, K. W. & Cleveland, D. W. Cell 102, 817–826 (2000).
King, J. M., Hays, T. S. & Nicklas, R. B. J. Cell Biol. 151, 739–748 (2000).
Rieder, C. L. & Alexander, S. P. J. Cell Biol. 110, 81–95 (1990).
Inoue, S. in Developmental Order: its Origin and Regulation (eds Subtelny, S. & Green, P. B.) 35–76 (Liss, New York, 1982).
Margolis, R. L. & Wilson, L. Nature 293, 705–711 (1981).
Sawin, K. E. & Mitchison, T. J. J. Cell Biol. 112, 941–954 (1991).
Waterman-Storer, C. M., Desai, A., Bulinski, J. C. & Salmon, E. D. Curr. Biol. 8, 1227–1230 (1998).
Pernice, B. Silicia Med 265–279 (1889).
Kapoor, T. M., Mayer, T. U., Coughlin, M. L. & Mitchison, T. J. J. Cell Biol. 150, 975–988 (2000).
Acknowledgements
Nature Cell Biology gratefully acknowledges all the publishers who provided images for this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Supplementary information
Figure S1a
Evidence of highly dynamic spindle microtubules (PDF 44 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mitchison, T., Salmon, E. Mitosis: a history of division. Nat Cell Biol 3, E17–E21 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35050656
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35050656
This article is cited by
-
Imaging mitotic processes in three dimensions with lattice light-sheet microscopy
Chromosome Research (2021)
-
COPB2: a transport protein with multifaceted roles in cancer development and progression
Clinical and Translational Oncology (2021)
-
The development of body and organ shape
BMC Zoology (2020)
-
Coherent diffractive imaging of microtubules using an X-ray laser
Nature Communications (2019)
-
Probing the biophysical properties of tumor cells during mitosis by atomic force microscopy
Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology (2018)