We
study
mitosis and cell division using comparative and synthetic
approaches in the related genetically tractable species. The
commonly used model organism Schizosaccharomyces
pombe and its unusual cousin Schizosaccharomyces
japonicus have similar genetic makeup but differ in
their approaches to mitotic division. For instance, S.
pombe leaves the nuclear envelope intact throughout the
cell cycle but S.
japonicus breaks it during mitosis, similarly to human
cells. While cells of both species divide in the middle, they
use different mechanisms to position the division site. The
two organisms also maintain markedly different cell sizes,
with S. japonicus being much larger than S. pombe. These salient differences between the two species provide
us with a unique opportunity to uncover fundamental mechanisms
underlying mitosis and cytokinesis and to evaluate functional
and evolutionary fluidity of these processes.
Copyright © 2016 by Snezhana Oliferenko