Mechanisms of Asymmetric Cell Division

Catalog description

Asymmetric cell division (ACD) is a fundamental biological process through which a single cell generates two daughters with distinct identities, behaviors, or developmental potentials. This course examines the molecular, cellular, and physical mechanisms that produce asymmetry during cell division, and development with particular emphasis on when and how asymmetric inheritance actually determines cell fate, and when it does not. Using experimental systems spanning embryos, neural stem cells, germline stem cells, students will analyze how polarity, spindle orientation, fate determinant segregation, organelle inheritance, epigenetic asymmetry, and niche signaling interact to control development, tissue maintenance, and regeneration in plants and animals. A central theme of the course is the distinction between asymmetric inheritance and asymmetric fate specification, a distinction that has important implications for disease and agriculture. While many stem and progenitor cells exhibit unequal inheritance of cellular components, only a limited number of systems use intrinsic asymmetry as a deterministic fate-specifying mechanism. In most adult tissues, fate is specified extrinsically by position, signaling environment, or tissue architecture. Through critical analysis of primary and secondary literature, students will learn how failures in these regulatory systems contribute to disease, including cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders, and tissue degeneration, where disrupted polarity, spindle orientation, or asymmetric division can lead to inappropriate self-renewal or loss of differentiation. Throughout the course, students will integrate theory with empirical evidence, focusing on experimental logic, figure interpretation, and causal inference. Topics include cortical polarity networks, spindle positioning and mechanics, fate determinant localization and anchoring,…