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Mitosis

Good housekeeping

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 12, page 7 (2011)Cite this article

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Spindle disassembly is rapid and occurs by separation of the two spindle halves and depolymerization of the interpolar microtubules. The mitotic exit network regulates the timing of disassembly, but few of its key targets in the spindle are known. Among the factors that have been implicated in disassembly so far are the anaphase promoting complex (APC; which degrades certain spindle-stabilizing factors), the Aurora B kinase homologue increase-in-ploidy 1 (Ipl1) and the plus-end-targeted motor Kip3 (which depolymerizes microtubules in vitro).

Woodruff et al. set out to characterize the control of spindle disassembly in budding yeast using real-time imaging in different genetic backgrounds. They first showed that depleting either the APC subunit Cdc20 homologue 1 (Cdh1) or Kip3 disrupted spindle disassembly in distinct ways: loss of Cdh1 resulted in hyperstable spindle halves and persistent localization of spindle-stabilizing factors, whereas loss of Kip3 produced spindle halves that continued to show phases of microtubule shrinkage and growth. Consistent with this, depletion of both factors produced synergistic defects in spindle disassembly. By analysing the timing of spindle separation relative to cell division, the authors revealed that the contraction of the cytokinetic ring can trigger splitting of the two spindle halves when disassembly is delayed in these mutants.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Woodruff, J. B., Drubin, D. G. & Barnes, G. Mitotic spindle disassembly occurs via distinct subprocesses driven by the anaphase-promoting complex, Aurora B kinase, and kinesin-8. J. Cell Biol. 191, 795–808 (2010)

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  1. Alison Schuldt
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Schuldt, A. Good housekeeping. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12, 7 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm3039

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