The Centrosome in Cells and Organisms

Centrosome Center Stage? The centrosome is a major organizer of the cytoskeleton in animal cells. The precise duplication of this organelle at each cell cycle ensures proper organization of the mitotic apparatus and chromosome segregation. However, centrosomes are dispensable for cell division during some stages of development in mouse and Drosophila. Bornens (p. 422) reviews the role of the centrosome in a variety of organisms and discusses how and why they can be dispensed with on occasion. In this vein, Azimzadeh et al. (p. 461, published online 5 January) now demonstrate that centrosomes in Planarian flatworms, best known for their remarkable regeneration abilities, are completely dispensable for both cell division and development. The centrosome acts as the main microtubule-nucleating organelle in animal cells and plays a critical role in mitotic spindle orientation and in genome stability. Yet, despite its central role in cell biology, the centrosome is not present in all multicellular organisms or in all cells of a given organism. The main outcome of centrosome reproduction is the transmission of polarity to daughter cells and, in most animal species, the sperm-donated centrosome defines embryo polarity. Here I will discuss the role of the centrosome in cell polarity, resulting from its ability to position the nucleus at the cell center, and discuss how centrosome innovation might have been critical during metazoan evolution.

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