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Determining the Plane of Cell Division

Determining the Plane of Cell Division

Positioning the cell division plane is a critical step during development and cell differentiation, particularly during mitosis when the plane is essential for determining the size of the two daughter cells. The cell division plane is perpendicular to the plane of chromosome segregation, but different types of organisms have different cell division mechanisms to suit their morphology and function.
Animal cells
In animal cells, the cleavage furrow forms along the plane of cell division starting...

Determining the Plane of Cell Division

Determining the Plane of Cell Division

Positioning the cell division plane is a critical step during development and cell differentiation, particularly during mitosis when the plane is essential for determining the size of the two daughter cells. The cell division plane is perpendicular to the plane of chromosome segregation, but different types of organisms have different cell division mechanisms to suit their morphology and function.
Animal cells
In animal cells, the cleavage furrow forms along the plane of cell division starting...

Cleavage and Blastulation

Cleavage and Blastulation

After a large-single-celled zygote is produced via fertilization, the process of cleavage occurs while zygotes travel through the uterine tube. Cleavage is a mitotic cell division that does not result in growth. With each round of successive cell division, daughter cells get increasingly smaller.

Zygotic Development And Stem Cell Formation

Zygotic Development And Stem Cell Formation

The development of all multicellular organisms starts with the fusion of haploid cells called sperm and egg to form a diploid zygote. A zygote is a totipotent cell that can develop into a complete organism. The zygote undergoes cell division or cleavage to form an 8-cell mass. Until this stage, the cells are spherical, loosely attached, and remain totipotent. Totipotent cells are capable of developing both the embryonic and the extraembryonic tissues. However, as they continue to divide, they...

Gastrulation

Gastrulation

Gastrulation establishes the three primary tissues of an embryo: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. This developmental process relies on a series of intricate cellular movements, which in humans transforms a flat, “bilaminar disc” composed of two cell sheets into a three-tiered structure. In the resulting embryo, the endoderm serves as the bottom layer, and stacked directly above it is the intermediate mesoderm, and then the uppermost ectoderm. Respectively, these tissue strata will form...

Determination

Determination

During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In contrast, determination...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

Visualizing Neuroblast Cytokinesis During C. elegans Embryogenesis

Visualizing Neuroblast Cytokinesis During C. elegans Embryogenesis

Published on: March 12, 2014

Oriented cell division in vertebrate embryogenesis.

Irinka Castanon¹, Marcos González-Gaitán

¹Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Sciences II, 30 Quai Ernest-Ansermet, CH 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.

Current Opinion in Cell Biology

|October 18, 2011

Summary

Oriented cell division, guided by mitotic spindle position, is crucial for tissue development. Misorientation can lead to diseases like cancer and polycystic kidney disease.

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Last Updated: May 28, 2026

Visualizing Neuroblast Cytokinesis During C. elegans Embryogenesis

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Visualization of Chondrocyte Intercalation and Directional Proliferation via Zebrabow Clonal Cell Analysis in the Embryonic Meckel’s Cartilage

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Published on: October 21, 2015

Area of Science:

Developmental biology
Cell biology
Biophysics

Background:

Tissue morphogenesis relies on precise cell arrangement during development.
Mechanisms like cell intercalation and chemotaxis influence tissue shape.
Oriented cell division, dictated by mitotic spindle positioning, is a key developmental process.

Purpose of the Study:

To review how cell division orientation directs tissue growth.
To explore the control of mitotic spindle positioning by intrinsic and extrinsic cues.

Main Methods:

Literature review of recent studies on cell division and tissue morphogenesis.
Analysis of molecular and biophysical mechanisms regulating spindle orientation.

Main Results:

Spindle misorientation is linked to developmental abnormalities and diseases such as tumorigenesis and polycystic kidney disease.
Both internal cellular factors and external environmental signals influence mitotic spindle placement.
Understanding these cues is vital for comprehending tissue growth direction.

Conclusions:

Oriented cell division is a fundamental mechanism in tissue morphogenesis.
Precise control over mitotic spindle orientation is essential for normal development and disease prevention.