Mitotic organization and force generation by assembly/disassembly of microtubules

Abstract

The sites and roles of microtubule assembly/disassembly in mitosis are reviewed, together with evidence that microtubule assembly can push, and disassembly can pull, organelles such as the kinetochore on chromosomes which remain attached to the assembling or disassembling end of the microtubule, in vivo and in vitro. Motor proteins with weakened or inhibited transport activity can bind objects to the assembling or disassembling microtubule end, and may be involved in the dynamic attachment of the kinetochore to the spindle microtubules in mitosis.