Specialized membrane domains are an important feature of almost all cells. In particular,
they are essential to tissues that have a highly organized cell cortex, such as the intestinal …

Abstract mRNA localization is a common mechanism for targeting proteins to regions of the
cell where they are required. It has an essential role in localizing cytoplasmic determinants …

Background During mitosis, animal cells undergo a complex sequence of morphological
changes, from retraction of the cell margin and cell rounding at the onset of mitosis to axial …

Background: Localization of nanos mRNA to the posterior pole of the Drosophila embryo
directs local synthesis of Nanos protein that is essential for patterning of the anterior …

Background: Memory formation after olfactory learning in Drosophila displays behavioral
and molecular properties similar to those of other species. Particularly, long-term memory …

Ezrin, a membrane–actin cytoskeleton linker, which participates in epithelial cell
morphogenesis, is held inactive in the cytoplasm through an intramolecular interaction …

The evolutionarily conserved Crumbs protein complex is a key regulator of cell polarity and
cell shape in both invertebrates and vertebrates. The important role of this complex in …

Actin filaments (microfilaments) regulate various dynamic events during oocyte meiotic
maturation and fertilization. In most species, microfilaments are not required for germinal …

Two prominent characteristics of epithelial cells, apical-basal polarity and a highly ordered
cytoskeleton, depend on the existence of precisely localized protein complexes associated …

Cell division requires cell shape changes involving the localized reorganization of cortical
actin, which must be tightly linked with chromosome segregation operated by the mitotic …