Factors that Control Mitotic Spindle Dynamics.

Abstract

Mitosis is the last phase of the cell cycle and it leads to the formation of two daughter cells with the same genetic information. This process must occurr in a very precise way and this task is essential to preserve genetic stability and to maintain cell viability. Accurate chromosome segregation during mitosis is brought about by an important cellular organelle: the mitotic spindle. This structure is made of microtubules, polymers of alpha and beta tubulin, and it is highly dynamic during the cell cycle: it emanates from two microtubules organizing centers (Spindle Pole Bodies, SPBs, in yeast) that are essential to build a short bipolar spindle, and it undergoes two steps of elongation during anaphase A and anaphase B in order to separate sister chromatids. Several proteins are involved in the control of mitotic spindle dynamics and their activity is tightly coordinated with other cell cycle events and with cell cycle progression.