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Manipulation of Embryonic Cleavage Geometry Using Magnetic Tweezers

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Cell Cycle Control

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2740))

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Abstract

The geometry of reductive divisions that mark the development of early embryos instructs cell fates, sizes, and positions, by mechanisms that remain unclear. In that context, new methods to mechanically manipulate these divisions are starting to emerge in different model systems. These are key to develop future innovative approaches and understand developmental mechanisms controlled by cleavage geometry. In particular, how cell cycle pace is regulated in rapidly reducing blastomeres and how fate diversity can arise from blastomere size and position within embryos are fundamental questions that remain at the heart of ongoing research. In this chapter, we provide a detailed protocol to assemble and use magnetic tweezers in the sea urchin model and generate spatially controlled asymmetric and oriented divisions during early embryonic development.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Appel Emergence en recherche (“MAGNUC”) from Université de Paris to JS, and grants from La Ligue Contre le Cancer (EL2021. LNCC/ NiM), the Fondation Bettencourt Schueller (“Coup d’Elan”), and the European Research Council (ERC CoG “Forcaster” no. 647073) to NM. JX. acknowledges the “Ecole Doctorale FIRE (Frontières de l’Innovation en Recherche et Education) – Program Bettencourt,” a fellowship from the Chinese Scholarship Council (201708070046), and from the LabEx “Who am I?” (ANR-11-LABX-0071). DLL is supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R35GM134885 and P20GM103432).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France

    Jing Xie, Nicolas Minc & Jérémy Sallé

  2. Equipe Labellisée LIGUE Contre le Cancer, Paris, France

    Jing Xie, Nicolas Minc & Jérémy Sallé

  3. Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA

    Daniel L. Levy

Authors
  1. Jing Xie
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  2. Daniel L. Levy
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  3. Nicolas Minc
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  4. Jérémy Sallé
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jérémy Sallé .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Montpellier, Centre de Recherche en Biologie cellulaire de Montpellier (CRBM), CNRS UMR 5237, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Anna Castro

  2. Université de Montpellier, Centre de Recherche en Biologie cellulaire de Montpellier (CRBM), CNRS UMR 5237, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Benjamin Lacroix

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

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Xie, J., Levy, D.L., Minc, N., Sallé, J. (2024). Manipulation of Embryonic Cleavage Geometry Using Magnetic Tweezers. In: Castro, A., Lacroix, B. (eds) Cell Cycle Control. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2740. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3557-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3557-5_8

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-3556-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-3557-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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