Asymmetric cell division generates cell types with different specialized functions or fates. This type of division is critical to the overall cellular organization and development of many multicellular organisms. In plants, regulated asymmetric cell divisions are of particular importance because cell migration does not occur. The influence of extrinsic cues on asymmetric cell division in plants...

Left-right asymmetry is a phenomenon that has a broad appeal-to anatomists, developmental biologists and evolutionary biologists-because it is a morphological feature of organisms that spans scales of size and levels of organization, from unicellular protists, to vertebrate organs, to social behaviour. Here, we highlight a number of important aspects of asymmetry that encompass several areas of...

The localization of mRNAs is used by various types of polarized cells to locally translate specific proteins, which restricts their distribution to a particular sub-region of the cytoplasm. This mechanism of protein sorting is involved in major biological processes such as asymmetric cell division, oogenesis, cellular motility, and synapse formation. With the finding of localized mRNAs in the y...

Theories to explain the prevalence of sex and recombination have long been a central theme of evolutionary biology. Yet despite decades of attention dedicated to the evolution of sex and recombination, the widespread pattern of sex differences in the recombination rate is not well understood and has received relatively little theoretical attention. Here, we argue that female meiotic drivers--al...

Asymmetric cell division is critical for generating cell diversity in low eukaryotic organisms. We previously have reported that polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs) induced by cobalt chloride demonstrate the ability to use an evolutionarily conserved process for renewal and fast reproduction, which is normally confined to simpler organisms. The budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which re...