The coordination of spindle-positioning forces during the asymmetric division of the Caenorhabditis elegans zygote.

ABSTRACT: In Caenorhabditis elegans zygote, astral microtubules generate forces essential to position the mitotic spindle, by pushing against and pulling from the cortex. Measuring microtubule dynamics there, we revealed the presence of two populations, corresponding to pulling and pushing events. It offers a unique opportunity to study, under physiological conditions, the variations of both spindle-positioning forces along space and time. We propose a threefold control of pulling force, by polarity, spindle position and mitotic progression. We showed that the sole anteroposterior asymmetry in dynein on-rate, encoding pulling force imbalance, is sufficient to cause posterior spindle displacement. The positional regulation, reflecting the number of microtubule contacts in the posterior-most region, r

SUBMITTER: Bouvrais H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8097383 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature