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SUMMARY:Multiscale local self-organization of the human metaphase mitotic 
 spindle
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260327T130000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260327T133000Z
DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260426T030120Z
UID:indico-contribution-10335@events.saip.org.za
DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Will Conway (New York Structural Biology Consortium)
 \nThe current model of mitotic spindle assembly proposes that microtubules
  nucleate at spindle poles and grow inward to capture chromosomes. However
 \, recent structural studies reveal that spindles are composed of short mi
 crotubules that do not span the full pole-to-chromosome distance. It remai
 ns unclear how short\, disconnected microtubules collectively generate and
  transmit the forces necessary to build a bipolar spindle. Using cryo-elec
 tron tomography to map microtubule polarity in intact human cells\, we fin
 d that spindle microtubules form locally antiparallel dense regions with a
  consistent 8 nm wall-to-wall spacing. This spacing is too narrow for most
  molecular motors to fit between adjacent microtubules\, ruling out direct
  motor crosslinking of the bundle interior. Instead\, spacing scales inver
 sely with local microtubule density\, consistent with density-driven steri
 c interactions\, analogous to liquid crystal ordering. Motor perturbations
  combined with centriole depletion\, which generated motor-active monopola
 r spindles\, further revealed that the kinesin-5 Eg5 motor establishes loc
 al antiparallel overlap independently of spindle bipolarity\, while a bala
 nce of Eg5 and dynein regulates microtubule density to maintain spindle ar
 chitecture. Together\, these findings challenge the pole-centric model and
  suggest a bottom-up\, self-organized model in which motor-microtubule int
 eractions within dense bundles generate forces that build bipolar spindles
 .\n\nhttps://events.saip.org.za/event/272/contributions/10335/
LOCATION:
URL:https://events.saip.org.za/event/272/contributions/10335/
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