Essay On Mitosis: Implications To Changes In Cellular Structure

Mitosis is an essential process in the cell cycle for the growth and development of an organism. Over the years, numerous studies have been conducted to understand the dynamics of mitosis and literatures about the process are fast accumulating. However the mechanism that is important in the vicissitudes of cellular shape during mitosis has remained unknown. Until later, a groundbreaking research on a “small ubiquitin-related modifier” (SUMO) will unravel the mystery that takes place when the cell changes its shape during mitosis.
It is a general knowledge that during the early stage of mitosis, the cell takes a round shape at the beginning of cell division and eventually becomes flat at the end of the process. In the early and late stages of mitosis, the protein actin plays a substantial role in the regulation of symmetrical distribution of chromosomes and in the formation of two new daughter cells (Heidelberg, 2013). But how modifications in actin networks influence the shape of cells during cell division still remains unclear.
A study spearheaded by Dr. Frauke Melchior noted the breakdown of an actin regulator Eps8 in a mammalian cell is the key to understanding stages in mitosis. An enzyme known as Ubiquitin E3 ligase facilitates the degradation of the actin regulator Eps8. Two significant results were established in the study. First, the switching off of this degradation process delays the early phases of mitosis and thus cells slowly assume a round shape. Second, distinct cell deformities is a result of “too little Eps8” during the late stages of mitosis. Such precise control of Eps8 levels affects the framework of the cell as it undergoes changes during the different stages of mitosis and this can cause a significant effect to the distribution of genetic information to the formation of two daughter cells (Heidelberg, 2013).

References

Heidelberg, Universität (2013, February 12). Cell shape changes during mitosis. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 12, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2013/02/130212121800.htm