Cell size reduction scales spindle elongation but not chromosome segregation in <i>C. elegans</i>.

ABSTRACT: How embryos adapt their internal cellular machinery to reductions in cell size during development remains a fundamental question in cell biology^1-11. Here, we use high-resolution lattice light-sheet fluorescence microscopy and automated image analysis to quantify lineage-resolved mitotic spindle and chromosome segregation dynamics from the 2- to 64-cell stages in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos. While spindle length scales with cell size across both wild-type and size-perturbed embryos, chromosome segregation dynamics remain largely invariant, suggesting that distinct mechanisms govern these mitotic processes. Combining femtosecond laser ablation^12,13 with large-scale electron tomography¹⁴, we find that central spindle microtubules mediate chromosome

SUBMITTER: Okafornta CW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12687828 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature