Asymmetric division, Notch signaling and neurogenesis in the embryonic spinal cord Event

Event details

The Notch signaling pathway is central is the generation of binary fate decisions in many cell types and animal models. During neurogenesis, neural progenitor cells undergo asymmetric divisions that produce daughter cells with distinct identities, maintaining a pool of progenitors while producing differentiating neurons. Progenitors display a high level of Notch activity, whereas neurons switch it off. I will first present evidence showing that this differential activity of the Notch pathway relies on the asymmetric partitioning of a Notch pathway regulator, the ubiquitin ligase Mindbomb1 (Mib1). I will describe how the intrinsic asymmetry of centrosomes and centriolar satellites controls the asymmetric recruitment of Mib1 on the mitotic spindle poles, such that its unequal partitioning primes the two daughter cells for unequal Notch activity.