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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Reconstitution of Basic Mitotic Spindles in Spherical Emulsion Droplets
Published on: August 13, 2016
Rotating microtubules as a basis for anaphase spindle elongation in diatoms
Abstract:
The separation of the spindle poles during anaphase in diatoms can easily be explained by contrarotating microtubules in the two half spindles. A model is presented demonstrating that in such a situation, the electron microscopically observed tetragonal pattern of the antipolar microtubules in the overlap region is the only means to achieve minimal frictional resistance. The consequences of the microtubule-rotating concept are discussed to comparison with other models (e.g. microtubule/microtubule-sliding).
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