Proper regulation of cytokinesis, the final stage of mitosis when the cell splits into two daughter cells, has long been recognized as critical for the completion of cell division. We use C. elegans to investigate the mechanisms of cytokinesis in the context of embryonic development, which has led to new insights into the basic mechanisms of cell cycle regulation. C. elegans is an excellent model system to study novel aspects of cell division in a developmentally relevant context. This represents a strong niche for our research lab as other standard model systems used to investigate cell division do not undergo development.
Various aspects of cell division, such as spindle alignment and orientation, are regulated by developmental programs to regulate how cells are produced in various tissues to build an organism from a fertilized embryo. Our work suggests that mechanisms of cytokinesis including furrow asymmetry, abscission timing and midbody positioning, fate and function could also be used during development to control cellular behavior and organization during development. The proper regulation of cell division is critical for cells to avoid aneuploidy, which causes genetic diseases such as Down’s syndrome and infertility and is also correlated with aggressive cancers.
Our research into how cell division mechanisms not only produce daughter cells with the right genetic material, but also control multiple other aspects of cellular behavior will likely generate important insights into human disease that may lead to the development of more effective therapies and cures.