Click here to close
Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly.
We suggest using a current version of Chrome,
FireFox, or Safari.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
2020 Jul 14;11728:16154-16159. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2002446117.
Show Gene links
Show Anatomy links
Active forces shape the metaphase spindle through a mechanical instability.
Oriola D, Jülicher F, Brugués J.
???displayArticle.abstract???
The metaphase spindle is a dynamic structure orchestrating chromosome segregation during cell division. Recently, soft matter approaches have shown that the spindle behaves as an active liquid crystal. Still, it remains unclear how active force generation contributes to its characteristic spindle-like shape. Here we combine theory and experiments to show that molecular motor-driven forces shape the structure through a barreling-type instability. We test our physical model by titrating dynein activity in Xenopus egg extract spindles and quantifying the shape and microtubule orientation. We conclude that spindles are shaped by the interplay between surface tension, nematic elasticity, and motor-driven active forces. Our study reveals how motor proteins can mold liquid crystalline droplets and has implications for the design of active soft materials.
Barry,
Entropy-driven formation of a chiral liquid-crystalline phase of helical filaments.
2006, Pubmed
Barry,
Entropy-driven formation of a chiral liquid-crystalline phase of helical filaments.
2006,
Pubmed Brugués,
Nucleation and transport organize microtubules in metaphase spindles.
2012,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Brugués,
Physical basis of spindle self-organization.
2014,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Burbank,
Slide-and-cluster models for spindle assembly.
2007,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Compton,
Focusing on spindle poles.
1998,
Pubmed Crowder,
A comparative analysis of spindle morphometrics across metazoans.
2015,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Decker,
Autocatalytic microtubule nucleation determines the size and mass of Xenopus laevis egg extract spindles.
2018,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Desai,
Anaphase A chromosome movement and poleward spindle microtubule flux occur At similar rates in Xenopus extract spindles.
1998,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Dumont,
Force and length in the mitotic spindle.
2009,
Pubmed Edelstein,
Advanced methods of microscope control using μManager software.
2014,
Pubmed Edozie,
Self-organization of spindle-like microtubule structures.
2019,
Pubmed Foster,
Active contraction of microtubule networks.
2015,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Gaetz,
Dynein/dynactin regulate metaphase spindle length by targeting depolymerizing activities to spindle poles.
2004,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Gatlin,
Directly probing the mechanical properties of the spindle and its matrix.
2010,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Giomi,
Spontaneous division and motility in active nematic droplets.
2014,
Pubmed Goshima,
Mechanisms for focusing mitotic spindle poles by minus end-directed motor proteins.
2005,
Pubmed Groen,
A novel small-molecule inhibitor reveals a possible role of kinesin-5 in anastral spindle-pole assembly.
2008,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Hannak,
Investigating mitotic spindle assembly and function in vitro using Xenopus laevis egg extracts.
2006,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Hueschen,
Microtubule End-Clustering Maintains a Steady-State Spindle Shape.
2019,
Pubmed Itabashi,
Probing the mechanical architecture of the vertebrate meiotic spindle.
2009,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Jülicher,
Hydrodynamic theory of active matter.
2018,
Pubmed King,
Analysis of the dynein-dynactin interaction in vitro and in vivo.
2003,
Pubmed Lacroix,
Microtubule Dynamics Scale with Cell Size to Set Spindle Length and Assembly Timing.
2018,
Pubmed Leoni,
Defect driven shapes in nematic droplets: analogies with cell division.
2017,
Pubmed Loughlin,
A computational model predicts Xenopus meiotic spindle organization.
2010,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Merdes,
A complex of NuMA and cytoplasmic dynein is essential for mitotic spindle assembly.
1996,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Mitchison,
Roles of polymerization dynamics, opposed motors, and a tensile element in governing the length of Xenopus extract meiotic spindles.
2005,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Miyamoto,
The kinesin Eg5 drives poleward microtubule flux in Xenopus laevis egg extract spindles.
2004,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Murray,
Cell cycle extracts.
1991,
Pubmed Nédélec,
Self-organization of microtubules and motors.
1997,
Pubmed Norris,
Microtubule minus-end aster organization is driven by processive HSET-tubulin clusters.
2018,
Pubmed Oakes,
Growth of tactoidal droplets during the first-order isotropic to nematic phase transition of F-actin.
2007,
Pubmed Oh,
Spatial organization of the Ran pathway by microtubules in mitosis.
2016,
Pubmed Oriola,
The Physics of the Metaphase Spindle.
2018,
Pubmed Oriola,
Fluidization and Active Thinning by Molecular Kinetics in Active Gels.
2017,
Pubmed Prinsen,
Shape and director-field transformation of tactoids.
2003,
Pubmed Prosser,
Mitotic spindle assembly in animal cells: a fine balancing act.
2017,
Pubmed Reber,
Emergent Properties of the Metaphase Spindle.
2015,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Redemann,
C. elegans chromosomes connect to centrosomes by anchoring into the spindle network.
2017,
Pubmed Roostalu,
Determinants of Polar versus Nematic Organization in Networks of Dynamic Microtubules and Mitotic Motors.
2018,
Pubmed Salbreux,
Mechanics of active surfaces.
2017,
Pubmed Sanchez,
Spontaneous motion in hierarchically assembled active matter.
2012,
Pubmed Scheff,
Tuning shape and internal structure of protein droplets via biopolymer filaments.
2020,
Pubmed Skoufias,
S-trityl-L-cysteine is a reversible, tight binding inhibitor of the human kinesin Eg5 that specifically blocks mitotic progression.
2006,
Pubmed Takagi,
Micromechanics of the vertebrate meiotic spindle examined by stretching along the pole-to-pole axis.
2014,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Tan,
Cooperative Accumulation of Dynein-Dynactin at Microtubule Minus-Ends Drives Microtubule Network Reorganization.
2018,
Pubmed Tinevez,
TrackMate: An open and extensible platform for single-particle tracking.
2017,
Pubmed Uteng,
Poleward transport of Eg5 by dynein-dynactin in Xenopus laevis egg extract spindles.
2008,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Valentine,
Individual dimers of the mitotic kinesin motor Eg5 step processively and support substantial loads in vitro.
2006,
Pubmed Verde,
Taxol-induced microtubule asters in mitotic extracts of Xenopus eggs: requirement for phosphorylated factors and cytoplasmic dynein.
1991,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase Weirich,
Self-organizing motors divide active liquid droplets.
2019,
Pubmed Weirich,
Liquid behavior of cross-linked actin bundles.
2017,
Pubmed
