When it comes time for a cell to divide, ensuring that each daughter cell receives its appropriate share of genetic material poses a complex biological haulage problem. Large, unwieldy chromosomes have to be separated and pulled to opposite ends of the cell before they\u2019re wrapped up into a new nucleus, and passed on to the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the heart of this haulage operation is the spindle, a long mechanical device made of filaments that grabs hold of chromosomes and drags them through the viscous cytoplasm. Spindles must act precisely and yet have to be sufficiently strong. \u201cIn order to understand where that strength comes from, you have to look at the detailed architecture of the spindle,\u201d says Fran\u00e7ois N\u00e9d\u00e9lec<\/a>, group leader at EMBL Heidelberg, who led the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To get a detailed picture of the spindle in the yeast S. pombe<\/em>, the team applied electron tomography to create computer models of the spindle\u2019s architecture that shed light on how it does its job. Jonathan Ward, a postdoc in N\u00e9d\u00e9lec\u2019s lab, worked with H\u00e9lio Roque (now at the University of Oxford<\/a>) from Claude Antony\u2019s electron microscopy lab (now at IGBMC, France<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n