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American Zoologist 1989 29(2):523-535; doi:10.1093/icb/29.2.523
© 1989 by The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
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Mitosis—From Molecules to Machine1

T. J. MlTCHISON
Department of Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco, California 94143

This paper concerns the mechanism of mitosis. I briefly review the history of mitosis research, emphasizing the role of microscopic observation. The polymerization and depolymerization of microtubules play central roles in both the assembly of the spindle, and in the way it moves chromosomes. I describe recent advances in understanding the dynamic behavior of individual microtubules, and of microtubules attached to kinetochores. The kinetochore is able to hold on to microtubule ends while allowing them to grow and shrink, reactions that can be studied both in living cells and in the test tube. Experiments in which microtubules in living cells are marked and then followed allow us to relate these individual dynamic processes to the overall mechanism of chromosome movement. I end the review by speculating about biochemical mechanisms for producing force on chromosomes in anaphase, and for balancing chromosomes in the center of the metaphase spindle.


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