Meiotic Spindle Has a Soft Spot

The spindle relies on forces exerted by microtubules and motor proteins to align and segregate chromosomes. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Takagi et al. (2019) Takagi J. Sakamoto R. Shiratsuchi G. Maeda Y.T. Shimamoto Y. Mechanically distinct microtubule arrays determine the length and force response of the meiotic spindle. Dev. Cell. 2019; 49 ( this issue) : 267-278 Google Scholar show that meiotic spindle microtubules respond differently to forces at different spindle locations, depending on microtubule organization and motor proteins that crosslink them