Dynamics of Cell Division

Cell division requires the proper spatio-temporal coordination between mitosis and citokinesis to allow the correct inheritance of the genetic material. Eukaryotic cells assemble the mitotic spindle to permit chromosome segregation into the daughter cells. The spindle in an structure made on microtubules, which are polarized and highly polarized cytoskeletal filaments. The major functions of the spindle are to properly capture chromosomes and to become a bipolar structure that allows their segregation into the daughter cells during cell division. In animal and fungal cells, spindle assembly and dynamics are intimately coordianted with the formation of the acto-myosin contractile ring, a circular structure associated to the plasma membrane whose constriction allows the physical separation of the two daughter cells. Using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as model, we propose to investigate the process of mitotic spindle and contractile ring assembly and the spatio-temporal fee