Microtubule motors in mitosis REVIEW

[Rcjohnsen]

Nature 407, 41 - 47 (2000) © Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 
Microtubule motors in mitosis  REVIEW
DAVID J. SHARP, GREGORY C. ROGERS & JONATHAN M. SCHOLEY 
Section of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California-Davis , 1
Shields Ave, Davis, California 95616, USA

Correspondence should be addressed to J.M.S. (e-mail: jmscholey at ucdavis.edu).

The mitotic spindle uses microtubule-based motor proteins to assemble itself
and to segregate sister chromatids. It is becoming clear that motors invoke
several distinct mechanisms to generate the forces that drive mitosis.
Moreover, in carrying out its function, the spindle appears to pass through a
series of transient steady-state structures, each established by a delicate
balance of forces generated by multiple complementary and antagonistic motors.
Transitions from one steady state to the next can occur when a change in the
activity of a subset of mitotic motors tips the balance.