Key parts of cell division rely on tiny, tube-shaped structures, called spindle pole bodies (SPBs) in yeast. While SPBs are well studied, many questions remain about how they copy themselves. Partly, this blind spot is due to the limits of optical microscopes, which can only see objects that are larger than the wavelengths of light with which they are viewed. A common alternative, electron microscopes, can see much smaller objects, but do not work on living cells.

In a study to be published on the eLife website on September 15, 2015, a team of researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and the University of Colorado Boulder combined two optical systems in a new way to get around the natural limits of optical microscopes. One, called structured illumination microscopy (SIM), makes laser-based interference patterns that change based on what they interact with, doubling the resolution of optical microscopes. The other, single-particle averaging (SPA), brings tiny objects and their locations into sharper focus by averaging many images into one "typical" picture. Using this method, the team found that SPBs duplicate and form some structures at different times than once thought. They also spotted a number of never-before-seen structures used in SPB duplication.


###

About the Stowers Institute for Medical Research

The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a non-profit, basic biomedical research organization dedicated to basic research - the critical first step in the quest for new medical diagnostics, therapies and treatments. Jim Stowers, founder of American Century Investments, and his wife, Virginia, opened the Institute in 2000. Since then, the Institute has spent over one billion dollars in pursuit of its mission.

Currently, the Stowers Institute is home to 500 researchers and support personnel, over 20 independent research programs, and more than a dozen technology development and core facilities.

Back to HCB News

More HCB News