An organelle-exclusion envelope assists mitosis and underlies distinct molecular crowding in the spindle region.

ABSTRACT: The mitotic spindle is a microtubular assembly required for chromosome segregation during mitosis. Additionally, a spindle matrix has long been proposed to assist this process, but its nature has remained elusive. By combining live-cell imaging with laser microsurgery, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy in Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells, we uncovered a microtubule-independent mechanism that underlies the accumulation of molecules in the spindle region. This mechanism relies on a membranous system surrounding the mitotic spindle that defines an organelle-exclusion zone that is conserved in human cells. Supported by mathematical modeling, we demonstrate that organelle exclusion by a membrane system causes spatio-temporal differences in mol

SUBMITTER: Schweizer N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4555823 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature