Biological complexity:new enzyme controlling cell division (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, July 12, 2018, 22:19 (2326 days ago) @ David Turell

It creates liquid bubbles in the cell to help with separation of organelles

https://phys.org/news/2018-07-cell-division.html

"When a cell divides, its constituents are usually evenly distributed among the daughter cells. University of Zurich researchers have now identified an enzyme that guarantees that cell constituents that are concentrated in organelles without a membrane are properly distributed.

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:In physical terms, this constitutes the formation of two phases in the liquid. Phase separation of molecules also takes place inside cells. Here, liquid drops form in the cell plasma.

"Researchers.. have now discovered that a class of enzymes – which are dual specificity kinases – actively control this process in cells. When a cell divides, the enzyme DYRK3 promotes the mixing of the phases. This guarantees that the cells can correctly build the machinery for separating the chromosomes and dividing the cell content. After division, the enzyme is broken down and the individual phases start to form again. If everything goes according to plan, the genetic material, organelles and cell contents are correctly distributed among the daughter cells. "These fundamental findings give us completely new insights into cell division: as a process in which the cell contents mix together and then separate again," says Lucas Pelkmans."

Comment: Every piece of research adds to the known complexity of cell division. Since cell division must be accurate, the entire process had to be designed all at once.