Long Division

What am I looking at?

This is an image of a fluorescently labeled single cell about to complete cytokinesis, the process of splitting one parent cell into two daughter cells. The yellow clumps are the DNA of the two daughter cells (1), the red strands are actin filaments (2), and the blue dots are myosin II protein (3).

Biology in the background

Cell division is the process of a single cell splitting into two daughter cells, each of which will contain a copy of the parent cell’s DNA.

This image showcases three of the major players in the process of cell division. The DNA (in yellow) has already been copied, split, and moved to opposite sides of the parent cell so that each daughter cell has an identical copy. You can also see the actin protein, in red. It forms filaments that give structure to the cell, facilitate its movement, and, during cell division, pull the cell membrane in at the center of the cell in an ever-contracting ring that eventually pinches the membrane off; this results in the ultimate separation of the two daughter cells. Finally, you can see the myosin II protein in blue. Myosin II is a motor protein that provides the force needed for the actin filaments to split the cell during cell division.

This cell is about 30 micrometers across, or roughly 2.5 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Technique

This image was created using confocal microscopy.