New cell division mechanism discovered

October 28, 2008

A novel cell division mechanism has been discovered in a microorganism that thrives in hot acid. The finding may also result in insights into key processes in human cells, and in a better understanding of the main evolutionary lineages of life on Earth. The study is published today in the online version the American National Academy of Sciences, PNAS.

The research group at the Department of Molecular Evolution at Uppsala University has identified a completely cell division machinery. The discovery was made in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, a microorganism belonging to the third domain of life, the Archaea, which originally was isolated from a hot spring in Yellowstone national park in Wyoming, USA. Because of the extreme conditions, in which the cells grow optimally in acid at 80°C, the organism is of interest for a wide range of issues.

- They represent exciting model systems in theories for how life once may have originated in hot environments on early Earth, as well as in the search for life in extreme environments on other planets, Professor Rolf Bernander explains. He is the scientist behind the study, together with colleagues Ann-Christin Lindås, Erik Karlsson, Maria Lindgren and Thijs Ettema.

The researchers have identified three genes that are activated just prior to cell division. The protein products from these genes form a sharp band in the middle of the cell, between newly segregated chromosomes, and then gradually constrict the cell such that two new daughter cells are formed.

- This is the first time in decades that a novel cell division mechanism has been discovered, and the gene products display no similarity to previously known division proteins, Rolf Bernander says.

Two of the three proteins are instead related to eukaryotic so-called ESCRT- proteins, which play important roles in vesicle formation during intracellular transport processes, and which also have been implicated in virus budding, including HIV, from the cell surface. The results are, thus, important not only for an increased understanding of the cell biology of archaea and extremophiles, but also for key cellular processes in human and other higher organisms, and for issues related to the origin and evolutionary history of these processes.

Uppsala University

---

---

	The Cell Cycle: Principles of Control (Primers in Biology) (Primers in Biology) by David O. Morgan (Author) The Cell Cycle is an account of the mechanisms that control cell division, beginning with a description of the phases and main events of the cell cycle and the main model organisms in cell-cycle analysis, including Xenopus, Drosophila, and yeasts. Later chapters focus on the molecules and mechanisms of the cell-cycle control system, including the cyclin-dependent kinase family of protein kinases, the cyclins that activate them, and the signaling molecules that regulate them, and discuss cell-cycle control in development and the failure of controls in cancer.
	Cell Division and Genetics (Cells and Life (2nd Edition)) by Robert Snedden (Author) This title explains what happens when cells divide. Cell division is the way in which organisms grow. Even when an organism is fully grown, some cells continue to divide to replace those that have become old or damaged. This book explores the complex relationship among chromosomes, genes, and DNA. It then examines the special form of cell division involved in reproduction, and how characteristics are passed on from one generation to another so that a pig gives birth to piglets and not kittens!
	Cell Specialization And Reproduction: Understanding How Cells Divide And Differentiate (The Library of Cells) by Amy Romano (Author) Explore how organisms grow and how specialized cells, tissues and organs develop. Includes in-depth coverage of cell processes with illustrations identifying key components of each cell at each stage. Presents concepts such as cell differentiation as well as the pros and cons of stem cell research and cloning.
	Dynamics of Cell Division (Frontiers in Molecular Biology) by Sharyn Endow (Editor), David Glover (Editor) This volume focuses on the structural aspects of cell division, ranging from nuclear envelope breakdown to cytokinesis and partitioning of the cytoplasm. It examines spindle assembly and chromosome behavior in mitosis and meiosis, centromere and kinetochore structure and regulation, telomeres, the role of centrosomes, and mechanisms by which overall regulation is achieved. Written as a companion volume to Cell Cycle Control, this book provides an up-to-date account of developments in this exciting area of cell biology.
	Synchrony in Cell Division and Growth by E. Zeuthen (Editor) This book has hardback covers.Ex-library,With usual stamps and markings,In fair condition, suitable as a study copy.No dust jacket.
	The Cell Division Cycle in Plants: Volume 26, The Cell Division Cycle in Plants (Society for Experimental Biology Seminar Series) by J. A. Bryant (Editor), D. Francis (Editor) First published in 1985, information is presented and summarised in this account of how plant cells divide. The chapters give information on control points in the cell cycle, on DNA replication and on the stages of cell and chloroplast division. The specialist authors together provide a general overview which will interest and inform all advanced students of the subject.
	Cell Division Control in Plants (Plant Cell Monographs) by Desh Pal S. Verma (Editor), Zonglie Hong (Editor) This volume examines the molecular basis of all aspects of cell division and cytokinesis in plants. It features 19 chapters contributed by world experts in the specific research fields, providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge on cell division control in plants. The editors are veterans in the field of plant molecular biology and highly respected worldwide.
	Mitosis: The movements of chromosomes in cell division (Columbia biological series) by Franz Schrader (Author)
	Population Balances in Biomedical Engineering: Segregation Through the Distribution of Cell States by Martin Hjortso (Author) The population balance modeling is a statistical approach for achieving accurate counts of any populations. It is an efficient way of counting traffic on roadways as well as to bacteria in lakes. In the biomedical world, it is used to count cell populations for the creation of biomaterials. Despite their undisputed accuracy, they have been underutilized for design and control purposes due to two main reasons: a) they are hard to solve and b) the functions that describe single-cell mechanisms and appear as parameters in these models are typically unknown.
	Bacterial Growth and Division: Biochemistry and Regulation of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Division Cycles by Stephen Cooper (Author) How does a bacterial cell grow during the division cycle? This question is answered by the codeveloper of the Cooper-Helmstetter model of DNA replication. In a unique analysis of the bacterial division cycle, Cooper considers the major cell categories (cytoplasm, DNA, and cell surface) and presents a lucid description of bacterial growth during the division cycle. The concepts of bacterial physiology from Ole Maaløe's Copenhagen school are presented throughout the book and are applied to such topics as the origin of variability, the pattern of DNA segregation, and the principles underlying growth transitions. The results of research on E. coli are used to explain the division cycles of Caulobacter, Bacilli, Streptococci, and eukaryotes. Insightful reanalysis highlights significant...