title: Asymmetric cell division: lessons from flies and worms.
abstract: Insights into the mechanisms of asymmetric cell division have recently been obtained from studies in genetically amenable systems such as Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans. These studies have emphasized the importance of cortically localized polarity organizing molecules, adapter molecules, and the actin cytoskeleton in controlling unequal segregation of cell-fate determinants and spindle orientation. The control of asymmetric cell divisions by Wnt signaling in C. elegans and Frizzled signaling in Drosophila reveals additional mechanisms for modulating cellular polarity and suggests that there are some similarities between the two systems.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0725, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Jan
authors.forename: Y N
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Jan
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton; D000199:Actins / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology; D002455:Cell Division; D016764:Cell Polarity; D004330:Drosophila / Q000166:cytology*; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008941:Spindle Apparatus
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins