C. elegans, with its invariant cell lineage, provides a powerful model system in which to study signaling-dependent asymmetric cell division. The C. elegans β-catenin-related protein, WRM-1, specifies endoderm at the 4-cell stage during the first cell signaling-induced asymmetric cell division of embryogenesis. During this interaction, Wnt signaling and the cell cycle regulator CDK-1 act togeth...

Bacterial cells must coordinate a number of events during the cell cycle. Spatio-temporal regulation of bacterial cytokinesis is indispensable for the production of viable, genetically identical offspring. In many rod-shaped bacteria, precise midcell assembly of the division machinery relies on inhibitory systems such as Min and Noc. In rod-shaped Actinobacteria, for example Corynebacterium glu...

Thermosensitive fts mutants of Escherichia coli belonging to seven previously identified genetic classes (ftsA to ftsG) were studied from a physiological standpoint. These mutants immediately stopped dividing and formed multinucleated filaments when the temperature was shifted to 41 C. Macromolecular syntheses (deoxyribonucleic acid), ribonucleic acid, cell mass, and murein) continued exponenti...

Accurate chromosome segregation during cell division requires that kinetochores couple microtubule dynamics to chromosome movement. New research reveals that the kinetochore-associated Ska1 complex hangs on to depolymerizing microtubules and brings some important friends along for the ride.

It is widely accepted that in order for a cell to maintain its average size through several divisions, a coordination between the cell growth and cell division should exist. However, the details of this coordination is not well understood. In the recent years, several attempts have been made to propose a generic model that explains the details of the process of cell growth and its coordination ...