Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Maresca TJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2752711 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Maresca Thomas J TJ Groen Aaron C AC Gatlin Jesse C JC Ohi Ryoma R Mitchison Timothy J TJ Salmon Edward D ED
Current biology : CB 20090618 14
During animal cell division, a gradient of GTP-bound Ran is generated around mitotic chromatin. It is generally accepted that this RanGTP gradient is essential for organizing the spindle, because it locally activates critical spindle assembly factors. Here, we show in Xenopus laevis egg extract, where the gradient is best characterized, that spindles can assemble in the absence of a RanGTP gradient. Gradient-free spindle assembly occurred around sperm nuclei but not around chromatin-coated beads ...[more]