Credit:
Midori Ohta/Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
Cell division is an elaborate dance shared between protein and DNA partners. This fluorescence microscope video captures the initial cell division right after in vitro fertilization of a roundworm embryo. First, microtubules (bright green) gather alongside DNA (purple) in the nucleus of the cell on the right, which is derived from sperm. The nucleus from the egg cell on the left then migrates over and the two nuclei fuse. The DNA from both partner cells condenses into chromosomes, while the microtubules bundle together to form spindle fibers that proceed to pull apart the chromosomes. This careful choreography ensures that genetic material is shared equally between what will become two daughter cells. Midori Ohta, a principal investigator at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, put this clip together to visualize how spindle fibers form in support of a paper her lab published in late May (Sci. Adv. 2026, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aed6539).
Credit: Midori Ohta/Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
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Max Barnhart is an assistant editor and life sciences reporter at C&EN.