title: Acentrosomal Microtubule Assembly in Mitosis: The Where, When, and How.
abstract: In mitosis the cell assembles the bipolar spindle, a microtubule (MT)-based apparatus that segregates the duplicated chromosomes into two daughter cells. Most animal cells enter mitosis with duplicated centrosomes that provide an active source of dynamic MTs. However, it is now established that spindle assembly relies on the nucleation of acentrosomal MTs occurring around the chromosomes after nuclear envelope breakdown, and on pre-existing microtubules. Where chromosome-dependent MT nucleation occurs, when MT amplification takes place and how the two pathways function are still key questions that generate some controversies. We reconcile the data and present an integrated model accounting for acentrosomal microtubule assembly in the dividing cell.
authors.affiliation: Cell and Developmental Biology Programme, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meunier
authors.affiliation: Cell and Developmental Biology Programme, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca I Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig de Lluis Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: isabelle.vernos@crg.eu.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vernos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism*; D008938:Mitosis / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins
keywords: RanGTP; acentrosomal pathways; augmin.; kinetochores; microtubules; mitosis