The concept of a spindle matrix has long been proposed to account for incompletely understood features of microtubule spindle dynamics and force production during mitosis. In its simplest formulation, the spindle matrix is hypothesized to provide a stationary or elastic molecular matrix that can provide a substrate for motor molecules to interact with during microtubule sliding and which can st...

During animal cell division, the central spindle, an anti-parallel microtubule bundle structure formed between segregating chromosomes during anaphase, cooperates with astral microtubules to position the cleavage furrow. Because the central spindle is the only structure linking the two halves of the mitotic spindle, it is under mechanical tension from dynein-generated cortical pulling forces, w...

The spindle of the colonial diatom Fragilaria contains two distinct sets of spindle microtubules (MTs): (a) MTs comprising the central spindle, which is composed of two half-spindles interdigitated to form a region of "overlap;" (b) MTs which radiate laterally from the poles. The central spindles from 28 cells are reconstructed by tracking each MT of the central spindle through consecutive seri...

Despite the growing evidence for the regulated spindle orientation in mammals, a systematic approach for identifying the responsible genes in mammalian cells has not been established. Here we perform a kinase-targeting RNAi screen in HeLa cells and identify ABL1 as a novel regulator of spindle orientation. Knockdown of ABL1 causes the cortical accumulation of Leu-Gly-Asn repeat-enriched-protein...

In a wide range of eukaryotes, chromosome segregation occurs through anaphase A, in which chromosomes move toward stationary spindle poles, anaphase B, in which chromosomes move at the same velocity as outwardly moving spindle poles, or both. In contrast, Caenorhabditis elegans female meiotic spindles initially shorten in the pole-to-pole axis such that spindle poles contact the outer kinetocho...

This study investigates machining stability considering the rotational and thermal effects of a spindle-bearing system. Conventional method for analysis only has regarded static response spindle system, which does not represent actual conditions as some investigations mentioned. Bearing stiffness change caused by contact angle is applied to analytical approach dynamics At same time, in frequenc...

The mitotic spindle performs the universal and crucial function of segregating chromosomes to daughter cells, and all spindles share common characteristics that facilitate this task. The spindle is built from microtubule (MT) polymers and hundreds of associated factors that assemble into a dynamic steady-state structure that is tuned to the cellular environment. In this review, we discuss the p...

Individual spindle fibres in prometaphase spermatocytes of the cricket, Neocurtilla hexadactyla, were irradiated with an ultraviolet microbeam. The stretched heteromorphic bivalent (X2Y) contracted to about 75% of its pre-irradiation length after irradiation of either of its two oppositely directed spindle fibres (i.e., the X2 or Y spindle fibre). The X2Y bivalent also contracted after irradiat...

Chromosomes are known to enhance spindle microtubule assembly in grasshopper spermatocytes, which suggested to us that chromosomes might play an essential role in the initiation of spindle formation. Chromosomes might, for example, activate other spindle components such as centrosomes and tubulin subunits upon the breakdown of the nuclear envelope. We tested this possibility in living grasshopp...

Bipolar spindle formation is essential for faithful chromosome segregation at mitosis. Because centrosomes define spindle poles, abnormal number and structural organization of centrosomes can lead to loss of spindle bipolarity and genetic integrity. ASAP (aster-associated protein or MAP9) is a centrosome- and spindle-associated protein, the deregulation of which induces severe mitotic defects. ...