Title: Putting The Mitotic Spindle In Its Place

Abstract: A cell is a complex fluidic environment in which many fundamental
biological processes take place. One such process is the proper
positioning and elongation of the mitotic spindle, which is crucial for
chromosome segregation and asymmetric cell division and involves the
interaction of microtubule assemblies with motor-proteins and
subcellular organelles. In an integrated experimental and computational
study, we use a combination of laser ablation, fluid flow measurements,
molecular perturbations, large scale fluid mechanics simulations,
stochastic simulations, and analytical theory to argue that proper
positioning is primarily achieved by the action of motor-proteins bound
to the cell boundary. This allows us to develop a unified theory of how
oscillations, stable positioning, and migration result from the
underlying behaviors of microtubules and motors. Theory should be
broadly applicable to a wide variety of circumstances.