Cell Division

Mesoscale patterns contain rich information that could potentially bridge the gap between molecular scale dynamics and cellular level decision- making processes. In particular, we are keen in testing the hypothesis that the feedback regulations underlying cortical pattern formation could shed light on the fundamental but little known problem of cell growth and cell size regulation.

Do cortical waves contain positioning or size information?

We discovered that during mitosis, cortical waves could predict site of division sites much earlier than known spindle-dependent mechanisms. In addition, they could actively sense mechanical cues and perform active area measuring. Such a membrane-dependent positioning and scaling function have important implications in the spatial control of cytokinesis (Xiao et al., Dev Cell 2017).