The objective of this project is analyze experimentally the actions and interactions of cell organelles and regions that are required for animal cell division. Normal and chemically treated cleaving eggs and dividing cultured vertebrate tissue cells will be used in experiments in which their shapes are changed, parts are removed and substances are injected. In animal cell division the mitotic apparatus (which also sorts and transports chromosomes) establishes a superficial contractile ring that constricts the cell into separate parts. The results of the experiments will yield information concerning: (1) The geometrical relations between the mitotic apparatus and the surface needed for cell division, (2) the nature of the immediate response of the surface to themitotic apparatus, (3) the time relations of the furrow establishment process,(4) the relation between the contractile ring and the surface, and (5)polar body formation. The cell division process is essential for the normal development and maintenance of animals, including man. The aspects of the process to be studied are fundamental, and expanded knowledge of it should increase the possibilities of control, as well as enhance understanding.
