biosights: May 12, 2014

Phosphoinositides get cells in shape

Early Drosophila embryos undergo 13 rounds of rapid nuclear division before enclosing each nucleus into an individual, membrane-bound cell. Reversi et al. describe how the phosphoinositides PI(4,5)P2 and PI(3,4,5)P3 control the resulting cell shapes by coordinating actomyosin contractility with plasma membrane expansion. This biosights episode presents the paper by Reversi et al. from the May 12, 2014, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with senior author Stefano De Renzis (EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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