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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Preparation of Drosophila S2 cells for Light Microscopy
Published on: June 3, 2010
Genes required for mitotic spindle assembly in Drosophila S2 cells
Gohta Goshima1, Roy Wollman, Sarah S Goodwin
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
Abstract:
The formation of a metaphase spindle, a bipolar microtubule array with centrally aligned chromosomes, is a prerequisite for the faithful segregation of a cell's genetic material. Using a full-genome RNA interference screen of Drosophila S2 cells, we identified about 200 genes that contribute to spindle assembly, more than half of which were unexpected. The screen, in combination with a variety of secondary assays, led to new insights into how spindle microtubules are generated; how centrosomes are positioned; and how centrioles, centrosomes, and kinetochores are assembled.
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