Actin-ratchet tightens contractile ring that severs budding daughter cells from their yeast mothers
Monday, June 11, 2012 - 11:01
in Biology & Nature
During the final stage of cell division, a short-lived contractile ring constricts the cellular membrane and eventually separates the dividing cell in two. Although this "molecular muscle's" composition, mainly actin and myosin, is similar to its skeletal counterpart, the force-producing mechanism is fundamentally different, report researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in the June 12, 2012, issue of Developmental Cell.