Cell Cycle Control Methods and Protocols

This detailed volume collects techniques to study the highly regulated cell cycle process. Beginning with chapters investigating these processes and assessing how cells respond when these complicated pathways are simplified by using synthetic biology and in vitro reconstitutions, the book continues by exploring how cells sense and respond to environmental conditions, different model systems and cellular types used to visualize cellular architecture during cell division, as well as innovative single cell microscopy techniques to highlight the heterogeneity of the cell population with respect to cell cycle progression. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step and readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. 

Single Molecule Approaches to Study DNA Condensation.- Studying Translesion DNA Synthesis Using Xenopus In Vitro Systems.- Cell-Cycle Specific Protein Phosphatase 1 (PP1) Substrates Identification Using Genetically Modified Cell Lines.- Dissecting the Multiple Functions of the Polo-Like Kinase 1 (PLK-1) in the C. elegans Zygote.- Artificial Modulation and Rewiring of Cell Cycle Progression Using Synthetic Circuits in Fission Yeast.- Measuring Molecular Diffusion in Self-Organizing Xenopus Extracts by Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy.- Mechanical Characterization of Murine Oocytes by Atomic Force Microscopy.- Manipulation of Embryonic Cleavage Geometry Using Magnetic Tweezers.- Crosstalk Between Metabolism and the Cell Division Cycle.- Give and Take: The Reciprocal Control of Metabolism and Cell Cycle.- Preparation of Xenopus borealis and Xenopus tropicalis Egg Extracts for Comparative Cell Biology and Evolutionary Studies.- Measuring Mitotic Spindle and Microtubule Dynamics in Marine Embryos and Non-Model Organisms.- Whole Mount Immunofluorescence Staining to Visualize Cell Cycle Progression in Mouse Oocyte Meiosis.- Imaging and Analysis of Drosophila Neural Stem Cell Asymmetric Division.- Cell Cycle Mapping Using Multiplexed Immunofluorescence.- Investigating Heterogeneous Cell-Cycle Progression Using Single-Cell Imaging Approaches.- MAARS Software for Automatic and Quantitative Analysis of Mitotic Progression.