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Asymmetric cell division: microtubule dynamics and spindle asymmetry

Julia A. Kaltschmidt^* and Andrea H. Brand

Wellcome/Cancer Research UK Institute and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QR, UK
^* Present address: HHMI, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, 701 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA

Author for correspondence (e-mail: ahb{at}mole.bio.cam.ac.uk )

Asymmetric cell division can produce daughter cells with different developmental fates and is often accompanied by a difference in cell size. A number of recent genetic and in vivo imaging studies in Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans have begun to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the rearrangements of the cytoskeleton that result in eccentrically positioned cleavage planes. As a result, we are starting to gain an insight into the complex nature of the signals controlling cytoskeletal dynamics in the dividing cell. In this commentary we discuss recent findings on how the mitotic spindle is positioned and on cleavage site induction and place them in the context of cell size asymmetry in different model organisms.

Key words: Asymmetric cell division, Microtubules, Spindle, Par proteins, G-protein signalling, Dynein, Dynactin

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