Asynchronous cell cycle phase key to critical stage of animal embryonic development

Cell division of a mother cell to produce two identical daughter cells is known as mitosis. This underlies the early embryonic development of sea squirts, when it changes from being highly synchronized to displaying a distinct spatial pattern that accompanies neural tube formation. However, researchers did not understand what controlled this switch in mitotic timing. A recent study from the University of Tsukuba reveals that the change represents the beginning of a mitotic wave that passes from