Abstract

The development of organs during animal development requires the allocation of appropriate numbers of cells to each part of the structure. Yet in Drosophila the patterns of cell proliferation can be quite different from one individual to the next, and in fact can be altered experimentally without altering final morphology. The developing pattern seems to control proliferation, rather than the other way around. Even though the pattern of proliferation is variable, there is some order to it. A recent paper(1) shows that small clusters of cells in developing cell populations are in mitotic synchrony, but that the synchrony is transient. What is the significance of this mitotic synchrony?