Cytokinesis () is the part of the

cell division Cell division is the process by which a parent cell (biology), cell divides into two daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle in which the cell grows and replicates its chromosome(s) before dividing. In eukar ...

process A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. Things called a process include: Business and management * Business process, activities that produce a specific s ...

and part of mitosis during which the

cytoplasm The cytoplasm describes all the material within a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, including the organelles and excluding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. The material inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell a ...

of a single

eukaryotic The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...

cell divides into two daughter cells. Cytoplasmic division begins during or after the late stages of nuclear division in

mitosis Mitosis () is a part of the cell cycle in eukaryote, eukaryotic cells in which replicated chromosomes are separated into two new Cell nucleus, nuclei. Cell division by mitosis is an equational division which gives rise to genetically identic ...

and

meiosis Meiosis () is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, the sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately result in four cells, each with only one c ...

. During cytokinesis the

spindle apparatus In cell biology, the spindle apparatus is the cytoskeletal structure of eukaryotic cells that forms during cell division to separate sister chromatids between daughter Cell (biology), cells. It is referred to as the mitotic spindle during mitos ...

partitions and transports duplicated chromatids into the cytoplasm of the separating daughter cells. It thereby ensures that

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

number and complement are maintained from one generation to the next and that, except in special cases, the daughter cells will be functional copies of the parent cell. After the completion of the telophase and cytokinesis, each daughter cell enters the

interphase Interphase is the active portion of the cell cycle that includes the G1, S, and G2 phases, where the cell grows, replicates its DNA, and prepares for mitosis, respectively. Interphase was formerly called the "resting phase," but the cell i ...

of the

cell cycle The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the sequential series of events that take place in a cell (biology), cell that causes it to divide into two daughter cells. These events include the growth of the cell, duplication of its DNA (DNA re ...

. Particular functions demand various deviations from the process of symmetrical cytokinesis; for example in oogenesis in animals the ovum takes almost all the cytoplasm and organelles. This leaves very little for the resulting polar bodies, which in most species die without function, though they do take on various special functions in other species. Another form of mitosis occurs in tissues such as

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

and

skeletal muscle Skeletal muscle (commonly referred to as muscle) is one of the three types of vertebrate muscle tissue, the others being cardiac muscle and smooth muscle. They are part of the somatic nervous system, voluntary muscular system and typically are a ...

; it omits cytokinesis, thereby yielding multinucleate cells (''see syncytium''). Plant cytokinesis differs from animal cytokinesis, partly because of the rigidity of plant cell walls. Instead of plant cells forming a cleavage furrow such as develops between animal daughter cells, a dividing structure known as the cell plate forms in the cytoplasm and grows into a new, doubled

cell wall A cell wall is a structural layer that surrounds some Cell type, cell types, found immediately outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. Primarily, it provides the cell with structural support, shape, protection, ...

between plant daughter cells. It divides the cell into two daughter cells. Cytokinesis largely resembles the prokaryotic process of

binary fission Binary may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * Binary number, a representation of numbers using only two values (0 and 1) for each digit * Binary function, a function that takes two arguments * Binary operation, a mathematical o ...

, but because of differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structures and functions, the mechanisms differ. For instance, a bacterial cell has a Circular chromosome (a single chromosome in the form of a closed loop), in contrast to the

linear In mathematics, the term ''linear'' is used in two distinct senses for two different properties: * linearity of a '' function'' (or '' mapping''); * linearity of a '' polynomial''. An example of a linear function is the function defined by f(x) ...

, usually multiple, chromosomes of eukaryote. Accordingly, bacteria construct no mitotic spindle in cell division. Also, duplication of prokaryotic DNA takes place during the actual separation of chromosomes; in mitosis, duplication takes place during the

before mitosis begins, though the daughter chromatids don't separate completely before the

anaphase Anaphase () is the stage of mitosis after the process of metaphase, when replicated chromosomes are split and the newly-copied chromosomes (daughter chromatids) are moved to opposite poles of the cell. Chromosomes also reach their overall maxim ...

Etymology and pronunciation

The word "cytokinesis" () uses combining forms of '' cyto-'' + '' kine-'' + '' -sis'',

Neo-Latin Neo-LatinSidwell, Keith ''Classical Latin-Medieval Latin-Neo Latin'' in ; others, throughout. (also known as New Latin and Modern Latin) is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy d ...

from

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a Literary language, literary standard language, standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It formed parallel to Vulgar Latin around 75 BC out of Old Latin ...

and

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

, reflecting " cell" and '' kinesis'' ("motion, movement"). It was coined by Charles Otis Whitman in 1887. Origin of this term is from Greek (', a hollow), Latin derivative ' (cellular), Greek (', movement).

Animal cell

Animal cell cytokinesis begins shortly after the onset of sister chromatid separation in the

. The process can be divided to the following distinct steps: anaphase spindle reorganization, division plane specification, actin-myosin ring assembly and contraction, and abscission. Faithful partitioning of the genome to emerging daughter cells is ensured through the tight temporal coordination of the above individual events by molecular signaling pathways.

Anaphase spindle reorganization

Animal cell cytokinesis starts with the stabilization of microtubules and reorganization of the mitotic spindle to form the central spindle. The central spindle (or ''spindle midzone'') forms when non-kinetochore microtubule fibers are bundled between the spindle poles. A number of different species including '' H. sapiens'', '' D. melanogaster'' and '' C. elegans'' require the central spindle in order to efficiently undergo cytokinesis, although the specific

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology (physical form and structure), its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological propert ...

associated with its absence varies from one species to the next (for example, certain

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' (), from Ancient Greek δρόσος (''drósos''), meaning "dew", and φίλος (''phílos''), meaning "loving", is a genus of fly, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or p ...

cell types are incapable of forming a cleavage furrow without the central spindle, whereas in both ''C. elegans'' embryos and human

tissue culture Tissue culture is the growth of tissue (biology), tissues or cell (biology), cells in an artificial medium separate from the parent organism. This technique is also called micropropagation. This is typically facilitated via use of a liquid, semi-s ...

cells a cleavage furrow is observed to form and ingress, but then regress before cytokinesis is complete). The process of mitotic spindle reorganization and central spindle formation is caused by the decline of

CDK1 Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 also known as CDK1 or cell division cycle protein 2 homolog is a highly conserved protein that functions as a serine/threonine protein kinase, and is a key player in cell cycle regulation. It has been highly studied in ...

activity during

. The decline of CDK1 activity at the transition from metaphase to anaphase leads to dephosphorylating of inhibitory sites on multiple central spindle components. First of all, the removal of a CDK1

phosphorylation In biochemistry, phosphorylation is described as the "transfer of a phosphate group" from a donor to an acceptor. A common phosphorylating agent (phosphate donor) is ATP and a common family of acceptor are alcohols: : This equation can be writ ...

from a subunit of the CPC (the chromosomal passenger complex) allows its translocalization to the central spindle from the centromeres, where it is located during metaphase. Besides being a structural component of the central spindle itself, CPC also plays a role in the phosphoregulation of other central spindle components, including PRC1 (microtubule-bundling protein required for cytokinesis 1) and MKLP1 (a kinesin motor protein). Originally inhibited by CDK1-mediated phosphorylation, PRC1 is now able to form a homodimer that selectively binds to the interface between antiparallel microtubules, facilitating spatial organization of the microtubules of the central spindle. MKLP1, together with the Rho-family

GTPase GTPases are a large family of hydrolase enzymes that bind to the nucleotide guanosine triphosphate (GTP) and hydrolyze it to guanosine diphosphate (GDP). The GTP binding and hydrolysis takes place in the highly conserved P-loop "G domain", a ...

activating protein CYK-4 (also termed MgcRacGAP), forms the centralspindlin complex. Centralspindlin binds to the central spindle as higher-order clusters. The centralspindlin cluster formation is promoted by

of MLKP1 by Aurora B, a component of CPC. In short, the self-assembly of central spindle is initiated through the phosphoregulation of multiple central spindle components by the decline of CDK1 activity, either directly or indirectly, at the metaphase-anaphase transition. The central spindle may have multiple functions in cytokinesis including the control of cleavage furrow positioning, the delivery of membrane vesicles to the cleavage furrow, and the formation of the midbody structure that is required for the final steps of division.

Division plane specification

The second step of animal cell cytokinesis involves division plane specification and cytokinetic furrow formation. Precise positioning of the division plane between the two masses of segregated chromosomes is essential to prevent chromosome loss. Meanwhile, the mechanism by which the spindle determines the division plane in animal cells is perhaps the most enduring mystery in cytokinesis and a matter of intense debate. There exist three hypotheses of furrow induction. The first is the astral stimulation hypothesis, which postulates that

astral microtubules An aster is a cellular structure shaped like a star, consisting of a centrosome and its associated microtubules during the early stages of mitosis in an animal cell. Asters do not form during mitosis in plants. Astral rays, composed of microtu ...

from the spindle poles carry a furrow-inducing signal to the

cell cortex The cell cortex, also known as the actin cortex, cortical cytoskeleton or actomyosin cortex, is a specialized layer of cytoplasmic proteins on the inner face of the cell membrane. It functions as a modulator of membrane behavior and cell surface p ...

, where signals from two poles are somehow focused into a ring at the spindle. A second possibility, called the central spindle hypothesis, is that the cleavage furrow is induced by a positive stimulus that originates in the central spindle equator. The central spindle may contribute to the specification of the division plane by promoting concentration and activation of the small small GTPase protein RhoA at the equatorial cortex. A third hypothesis is the astral relaxation hypothesis. It postulates that active actin-myosin bundles are distributed throughout the cell cortex, and inhibition of their contraction near the spindle poles results in a gradient of contractile activity that is highest at the midpoint between poles. In other words, astral microtubules generate a negative signal that increases cortical relaxation close to the poles. Genetic and laser-micromanipulation studies in ''

Caenorhabditis elegans ''Caenorhabditis elegans'' () is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a Hybrid word, blend of the Greek ''caeno-'' (recent), ''r ...

'' embryos have shown that the spindle sends two redundant signals to the cell cortex, one originating from the central spindle, and a second signal deriving from the spindle aster, suggesting the involvement of multiple mechanisms combined in the positioning of the cleavage furrow. The predominance of one particular signal varies between cell types and organisms. And the multitude and partial redundancy of signals may be required to make the system robust and to increase spatial precision.

Actin-myosin ring assembly and contraction

At the cytokinesis cleavage furrow, it is the actin-myosin contractile ring that drives the cleavage process, during which cell membrane and wall grow inward, which eventually pinches the mother cell in two. The key components of this ring are the filamentous protein actin and the motor protein myosin II. The contractile ring assembles equatorially (in the middle of the cell) at the

(adjacent to the cell membrane). Rho protein family (RhoA protein in mammalian cells) is a key regulator of contractile ring formation and contraction in animal cells. The RhoA pathway promotes assembly of the actin-myosin ring by two main effectors. First, RhoA stimulates nucleation of unbranched actin filaments by activation of Diaphanous-related formins. This local generation of new actin filaments is important for the contractile ring formation. This actin filament formation process also requires a protein called profilin, which binds to actin monomers and helps load them onto the filament end. Second, RhoA promotes myosin II activation by the kinase ROCK, which activates myosin II directly by phosphorylation of the myosin light chain and also inhibits myosin phosphatase by phosphorylation of the phosphatase-targeting subunit MYPT. Besides actin and myosin II, the contractile ring contains the scaffolding protein anillin. Anillin binds to actin, myosin, RhoA, and CYK-4, and thereby links the equatorial cortex with the signals from the central spindle. It also contributes to the linkage of the actin-myosin ring to the plasma membrane. Additionally, anillin generates contractile forces by rectifying thermal fluctuations. Another protein, septin, has also been speculated to serve as a structural scaffold on which the cytokinesis apparatus is organized. Following its assembly, contraction of the actin-myosin ring leads to ingression of the attached plasma membrane, which partitions the cytoplasm into two domains of emerging sister cells. The force for the contractile processes is generated by movements along actin by the motor protein myosin II. Myosin II uses the free energy released when ATP is hydrolyzed to move along these actin filaments, constricting the cell membrane to form a cleavage furrow. Continued

hydrolysis Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution reaction, substitution, elimination reaction, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water ...

causes this cleavage furrow to ingress (move inwards), a striking process that is clearly visible through a

light microscope The optical microscope, also referred to as a light microscope, is a type of microscope that commonly uses visible spectrum, visible light and a system of lens (optics), lenses to generate magnified images of small objects. Optical microscopes ...

Abscission

The cytokinetic furrow ingresses until a midbody structure (composed of electron-dense, proteinaceous material) is formed, where the actin-myosin ring has reached a diameter of about 1–2 μm. Most animal cell types remain connected by an intercellular cytokinetic bridge for up to several hours until they are split by an actin-independent process termed abscission, the last step of cytokinesis. The process of abscission physically cleaves the midbody into two. Abscission proceeds by removal of cytoskeletal structures from the cytokinetic bridge, constriction of the cell cortex, and plasma membrane fission. The intercellular bridge is filled with dense bundles of antiparallel microtubules that derive from the central spindle. These microtubules overlap at the midbody, which is generally thought to be a targeting platform for the abscission machinery. The microtubule severing protein spastin is largely responsible for the disassembly of microtubule bundles inside the intercellular bridge. Complete cortical constriction also requires removal of the underlying cytoskeletal structures. Actin filament disassembly during late cytokinesis depends on the PKCε–14-3-3 complex, which inactivates RhoA after furrow ingression. Actin disassembly is further controlled by the GTPase Rab35 and its effector, the phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 5-phosphatase OCRL. The final step of abscission is controlled by the recruitment and polymerization of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport III (ESCRT-III), which serves to physically constrict and separate the plasma membrane of the two adjoined daughter cells.

Timing cytokinesis

Cytokinesis must be temporally controlled to ensure that it occurs only after sister chromatids separate during the

portion of normal proliferative cell divisions. To achieve this, many components of the cytokinesis machinery are highly regulated to ensure that they are able to perform a particular function at only a particular stage of the

. Cytokinesis happens only after APC binds with CDC20. This allows for the separation of chromosomes and myosin to work simultaneously. After cytokinesis, non-kinetochore microtubules reorganize and disappear into a new cytoskeleton as the cell cycle returns to

(see also

Plant cell

Due to the presence of a

, cytokinesis in plant cells is significantly different from that in animal cells, Rather than forming a contractile ring, plant cells construct a cell plate in the middle of the cell. The stages of cell plate formation include (1) creation of the phragmoplast, an array of microtubules that guides and supports the formation of the cell plate; (2) trafficking of vesicles to the division plane and their fusion to generate a tubular-vesicular network; (3) continued fusion of membrane tubules and their transformation into membrane sheets upon the deposition of callose, followed by deposition of

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...

and other

components; (4) recycling of excess membrane and other material from the cell plate; and (5) fusion with the parental

The phragmoplast is assembled from the remnants of the mitotic spindle, and serves as a track for the trafficking of vesicles to the phragmoplast midzone. These vesicles contain lipids, proteins and carbohydrates needed for the formation of a new cell boundary. Electron tomographic studies have identified the

Golgi apparatus The Golgi apparatus (), also known as the Golgi complex, Golgi body, or simply the Golgi, is an organelle found in most eukaryotic Cell (biology), cells. Part of the endomembrane system in the cytoplasm, it protein targeting, packages proteins ...

as the source of these vesicles, but other studies have suggested that they contain endocytosed material as well. These tubules then widen and fuse laterally with each other, eventually forming a planar, fenestrated sheet ^{/sup>. As the cell plate matures, large amounts of membrane material are removed via clathrin-mediated endocytosis

Endocytosis is a cellular process in which Chemical substance, substances are brought into the cell. The material to be internalized is surrounded by an area of cell membrane, which then buds off inside the cell to form a Vesicle (biology and chem ...
^{/sup> Eventually, the edges of the cell plate fuse with the parental plasma membrane

The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of a cell from the outside environment (the extr ...
, often in an asymmetrical fashion, thus completing cytokinesis. The remaining fenestrae contain strands of endoplasmic reticulum

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a part of a transportation system of the eukaryote, eukaryotic cell, and has many other important functions such as protein folding. The word endoplasmic means "within the cytoplasm", and reticulum is Latin for ...
passing through them, and are thought to be the precursors of plasmodesmata

Plasmodesmata (singular: plasmodesma) are microscopic channels which traverse the cell walls of plant cells and some algal cells, enabling transport and communication between them. Plasmodesmata evolved independently in several lineages, and spe ...
^{/sup>.

The construction of the new cell wall

A cell wall is a structural layer that surrounds some Cell type, cell types, found immediately outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. Primarily, it provides the cell with structural support, shape, protection, ...
begins within the lumen of the narrow tubules of the young cell plate. The order in which different cell wall components are deposited has been determined largely by immuno-electron microscopy. The first components to arrive are pectins, hemicellulose
A hemicellulose (also known as polyose) is one of a number of heteropolymers (matrix polysaccharides), such as arabinoxylans, present along with cellulose in almost all embryophyte, terrestrial plant cell walls. Cellulose is crystalline, strong, an ...
s, and arabinogalactan proteins carried by the secretory vesicles that fuse to form the cell plate. The next component to be added is callose, which is polymerized directly at the cell plate by callose synthases. As the cell plate continues to mature and fuses with the parental plasma membrane, the callose is slowly replaced with cellulose

Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...
, the primary component of a mature cell wall ^{/sup>. The middle lamella (a glue-like layer containing pectin) develops from the cell plate, serving to bind the cell walls of adjoining cells together.

Forces

Animal cells

Cytokinetic furrow ingression is powered by Type II Myosin ATPase. Since Myosins are recruited to the medial region, the contractile forces acting on the cortex resemble a 'purse string' constriction pulling inwards. This leads to the inward constriction. The plasma membrane by virtue of its close association with the cortex via crosslinker proteins To the constriction of the cleavage furrow, the total surface area should be increased by supplying the plasma membrane via exocytosis.

Theoretical models show that symmetric constriction requires both lateral stabilization and constriction forces. Reduction of external pressure and of surface tension (by membrane trafficking) reduce the required stabilization and constriction forces.

Proteins involved in cytokinesis

CEP55 is a mitotic phosphoprotein that plays a key role in cytokinesis, the final stage of cell division.

Clinical significance

In some cases, a cell may divide its genetic material and grow in size, but fail to undergo cytokinesis. This results in larger cells with more than one nucleus. Usually this is an unwanted aberration and can be a sign of cancerous cells.

See also

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References

Further reading

*''The Molecular Requirements for Cytokinesis'' by M. Glotzer (2005), Science 307, 1735
*"Animal Cytokinesis: from parts list to mechanism" by Eggert, U.S., Mitchison, T.J., Field, C.M. (2006), Annual Review of Cell Biology 75, 543-66
*''Campbell Biology'' (2010), 580-582
More description and nice images of cell division in plants, with a focus on fluorescence microscopy
*

{{Cell cycle

Cell cycle
Mitosis
Meiosis}}}}