Organelle Inheritance During Cell Division: New Frontiers in Mitosis

A current project in my laboratory is investigating the mechanism and regulation of mitotic ER reorganization during cell division. It is unclear what factors are involved in reorganization of the ER and if these dramatic changes are cell cycle regulated? We will examine mitotic ER reorganization in the rapid divisions of early embryo of the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster. Investigations in the early Drosophila embryo offers several advantages including dividing in syncytium for the first 13 divisions, which include a rapid synchronous mitosis occurring on the average every ~15 minutes. We will employ both genetic analysis and live fluorescence confocal microscopy, to examine the requirements of intracellular membrane reorganization during mitosis...

Speaker: Blake Riggs, San Francisco State University