Mechanisms of Mitotic Spindle Assembly and Function.

The primary assay that my laboratory uses to study spindle assembly is an in vitro system derived from eggs of the frog Xenopus laevis. The cell cycle state of these cytoplasmic extracts can be controlled, and they can recapitulate many of the detailed morphological changes associated with mitosis. The real power of this system comes from its biochemical accessibility and the microscopy approaches that can be utilized to follow dynamic events in real time. Individual components of the extract can be specifically manipulated, and mitotic sub-processes such as microtubule dynamics and chromosome condensation can also be dissected and imaged, allowing a detailed structural and functional analysis of the complex and dynamic macromolecular cell division apparatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]