Colchicine inhibits microtubule polymerization. How could colchicine be used to induce abnormal chromosomal segregation in daughter cells?
Added by Lourdes M.
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Step 1: Colchicine inhibits microtubule polymerization, which is essential for the formation of the spindle fibers during cell division. Show more…
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A drug, colchicine, can be added to cells in culture and it stops the polymerization of microtubules. What effect would this have on mitosis? It would slow or block mitosis by interfering with the spindle apparatus function. It would speed up mitosis by increasing the rate of DNA replication. It would speed up mitosis by increasing the elongation rate of the dividing cell. It would slow or block mitosis by preventing DNA replication.
Sukhwinder N.
Colchicine, a drug which inhibits microtubule building by binding to microtubule ends, can be an important therapeutic for cancer or infections. With what cellular process(es) does Colchicine interfere? I. DNA replication II. Transcription III. Translation IV. Mitosis V. Meiosis a. I, II and III b. I and V c. IV and V d. III, IV and V e. none of the previous combinations
Adi S.
The drug Taxol, extracted from the bark of yew trees, has an opposite effect to the drug colchicine, an alkaloid from autumn crocus. Taxol binds tightly to microtubules and stabilizes them; when added to cells, it causes much of the free tubulin to assemble into microtubules. In contrast, colchicine prevents microtubule formation. Taxol is just as pernicious to dividing cells as colchicine, and both are used as anticancer drugs. Based on your knowledge of microtubule dynamics, suggest why both drugs are toxic to dividing cells despite their opposite actions.
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