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Role of inscuteable in orienting asymmetric cell divisions in Drosophila

Nature volume 383, pages 50–55 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

Drosophila neuroblasts and epithelial cells in the procephalic neurogenic region divide perpendicular to the surface, and segregate the proteins Numb and Prospero into the basal daughter cell. We demonstrate here that orientation of the mitotic spindle and correct localization of Numb and Prospero in these cells require the inscuteable gene. Moreover, ectopic expression of inscuteable in other epithelial cells leads to spindle reorientation. The Inscuteable protein localizes to the apical cell cortex before mitosis, suggesting that Inscuteable functions in establishing polarity for asymmetric cell division.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, 119260, Singapore

    Rachel Kraut & William Chia

  2. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Departments of Physiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, 3rd and Parnassus Avenues, San Francisco, California, 94143–0724, USA

    Lily Yeh Jan, Yuh Nung Jan & Jürgen A. Knoblich

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  1. Rachel Kraut
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  2. William Chia
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  5. Jürgen A. Knoblich
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Kraut, R., Chia, W., Jan, L. et al. Role of inscuteable in orienting asymmetric cell divisions in Drosophila. Nature 383, 50–55 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/383050a0

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