Mitosis is that phase of the cell cycle where the contents are divided up and cytokinesis separates the mother cell into two. The chromosomes are segregated by the mitotic spindle but other organelles use a variety of mechanisms to ensure segregation and propagation through future generations.
Studies at Yale are aimed at understanding the mechanisms underlying the inheritance of the cortical endoplasmic reticulum in budding yeast and the inheritance of the Golgi apparatus in mammalian cells and protozoan parasites. The mechanisms that ensure accurate division of the mother cell into two equally-sized daughters are being studied in the fission yeast, S. pombe. Unlike budding yeast, S. pombe divides down the middle and so is a better model for animal cell division.
