Nuclear migration: The missing (L) UNC?

Eukaryotic cells can move their nuclei to specific locations in the cytoplasm. The single-celled budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for example, moves its nucleus into the bud neck that joins the mother and daughter cell so that the mitotic spindle can form in the correct position to distribute the chromosomes between the two cells. After fertilisation in higher eukaryotes, the male and female pronuclei can move over huge distances before they fuse to form the zygotic nucleus. Less dramatic nuclear migrations also occur in many other types of cell. Little is known about the mechanisms behind these nuclear movements, but this may change following the identification of a protein, UNC84, that is required for nuclear migration during the development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans [1].