Cosegregation of asymmetric features during cell division |
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Authors: | Silje Anda Erik Boye Kay Oliver Schink Beata Grallert |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Radiation Biology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway ; 2. Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway ; 3. Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway |
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Abstract: | Cellular asymmetry plays a major role in the ageing and evolution of multicellular organisms. However, it remains unknown how the cell distinguishes ‘old’ from ‘new’ and whether asymmetry is an attribute of highly specialized cells or a feature inherent in all cells. Here, we investigate the segregation of three asymmetric features: old and new DNA, the spindle pole body (SPB, the centrosome analogue) and the old and new cell ends, using a simple unicellular eukaryote, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. To our knowledge, this is the first study exploring three asymmetric features in the same cells. We show that of the three chromosomes of S. pombe, chromosome I containing the new parental strand, preferentially segregated to the cells inheriting the old cell end. Furthermore, the new SPB also preferentially segregated to the cells inheriting the old end. Our results suggest that the ability to distinguish ‘old’ from ‘new’ and to segregate DNA asymmetrically are inherent features even in simple unicellular eukaryotes. |
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Keywords: | cosegregation asymmetric segregation spindle pole body DNA segregation |
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