News Release

Mitosis gets harder thanks to new gene discovery

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Bath

A biological process taught to every pupil studying science at high school has just become a little more complicated thanks to a new discovery published today.

Scientists from the University of Bath have found that a protein called RASSF7 is essential for mitosis, the process by which a cell divides in two.

In research published in the journal Molecular Biology of the Cell, the scientists have shown that the protein is essential for building the microtubules that allow the two halves of the cell to slide apart.

“What makes mitosis so interesting is that it is one of the biological processes that everyone remembers from their days at school,” said Dr Andrew Chalmers from the University’s Department of Biology & Biochemistry.

“As well as being one of Nature’s most important processes, our interest in mitosis stems from the fact that if you want to kill cancer cells, then stopping them from dividing is a useful way of doing this.

“Several cancer treatments block cell division by targeting microtubules, Taxol is a well known example. It is even possible that RASSF7 might be a future drug target”.

During the different phases of mitosis the pairs of chromosomes within the cell condense and attach to microtubule fibres that pull the sister chromatids to opposite sides of the cell.

The cell then divides in cytokinesis, to produce two identical daughter cells.

RASSF7 is the latest of a battery of proteins involved in managing the complex process of mitosis.

“During mitosis, the chromosomes containing the DNA are pulled apart in two halves by an array of microtubules centred on the centrosomes,” said Dr Chalmers.

“Without the RASSF7 protein, the microtubules do not develop properly and cell division is halted.

“This is the first functional study of this protein, and we hope to extend our knowledge of how it works in the future.”

The research was funded by the Medical Research Council.

The work was carried out in Dr Chalmers laboratory by Dr Victoria Sherwood and two final year undergraduate project students from the University, Ria Manbodh and Carol Sheppard.

Dr Sherwood will now continue her research on cancer at a new job at the Lund University Clinical Research Centre, Sweden.

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For further information please contact Andrew McLaughlin in the University of Bath Press Office on +44 (0)1225 386 883.

Notes

The University of Bath is one of the UK’s leading universities, with an international reputation for quality research and teaching. In 15 subject areas the University of Bath is rated in the top ten in the country. View a full list of the University’s press releases: http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/releases/


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