A matter of force( osterior of the cell. The microtubules ...)

"This shrinkage is then translated into a pulling force at the cortex," says Cleopatra Kozlowski from Ndlec's group, who carried out the research together with Martin Srayko from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics. "How exactly this works we don't know yet. One possibility could be that part of the cortex holds on to the microtubule while it shortens, and so pulls on the whole spindle."

The nature of so-called force generators on the cortex is yet unclear, as is the question if more of them are active at the posterior to give more net force in that direction. But computer simulations show that the concept of force generators that translate the dynamic behaviour of microtubules into a pulling force can explain the specific movements of the mitotic spindle.

The same principle might apply also to asymmetric cell division in other organisms and contexts, such as stem cell renewal. The cellular components involved in such divisions have been conserved throughout evolution making it likely that different species might also share the mechanism of the process.

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Contact: Anna-Lynn Wegener
wegener@embl.de
49-622-138-7452
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
3-May-2007