Cell division in moss and animals more similar than previously thought

Disturbed cell division in the moss mutant affects plant growth ( right ) compared to wildtype moss ( left ). Images: Elena Kozgunova - German-Japanese research team from Universities of Freiburg and Nagoya identifies what determines the site of cell division in plants For a new plant to grow from a seed, cells need to divide numerous times. Daughter cells can each take on different tasks and sometimes vary in size. How plants determine the plane of cell division in this process, known as mitosis, is being researched by Ralf Reski and Dr. Elena Kozgunova from the University of Freiburg in a joint effort with Prof. Dr. Gohta Goshima from Nagoya University. Working with Physcomitrella - a moss plant, they have now identified how the mitotic apparatus is localized in the plant cell: "Using moss cells we were able to observe an unexpected process that is important for the position of the cell division site in plants. The process could be far more similar to animal cell division than previously thought," Reski from the cluster of excellence CIBSS comments on the results of the study, which has appeared . When cells divide, microtubules - a dynamic network of protein filaments - form a mitotic spindle that draws the chromosomes apart and arranges them into two daughter cells.