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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Live Cell Imaging to Assess the Dynamics of Metaphase Timing and Cell Fate Following Mitotic Spindle Perturbations
Published on: September 20, 2019
Ran is required before metaphase for spindle assembly and chromosome alignment and after metaphase for chromosome
Rosalind V Silverman-Gavrila1, Andrew Wilde
1Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 1A8, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
The Ran pathway has been shown to have a role in spindle assembly. However, the extent of the role of the Ran pathway in mitosis in vivo is unclear. We report that perturbation of the Ran pathway disrupted multiple steps of mitosis in syncytial Drosophila embryos and uncovered new mitotic processes that are regulated by Ran. During the onset of mitosis, the Ran pathway is required for the production, organization, and targeting of centrosomally nucleated microtubules to chromosomes. However, the role of Ran is not restricted to microtubule organization, because Ran is also required for the alignment of chromosomes at the metaphase plate. In addition, the Ran pathway is required for postmetaphase events, including chromosome segregation and the assembly of the microtubule midbody. The Ran pathway mediates these mitotic events, in part, by facilitating the correct targeting of the kinase Aurora A and the kinesins KLP61F and KLP3A to spindles.
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