Cell division is a fundamental biological process which ensures that, following the replication of the mother cell’s genome, the two sets of chromosomes are equally distributed between two daughter cells. Chromosomes are segregated by the spindle apparatus, which is made up of fibrous protein structures called microtubules. The spindle apparatus is anchored to the opposite poles of the cell and determines the position of the future cleavage site in the middle of the cell, where a contractile protein ring is assembled. LMU researchers led by cell biologist Dr. Esther Zanin, who heads an Emmy Noether Research Group at the LMU Biocenter, have identified a molecular signaling pathway that restricts formation of the contractile ring to the mid-plane of the mother cell.