Guerreiro et al. show that loss of the primary microcephaly gene WDR62 in human cells mislocalizes the microtubule-severing enzyme katanin from mitotic spindle poles. This mislocalization reduces microtubule minus-end depolymerization, slowing poleward microtubule flux and promoting asynchronous chromosome segregation in anaphase.

Huang et al. reveal that the microcephaly-related protein WDR62 possesses an intrinsic affinity for curved microtubules and regulates spindle dynamics by functioning as an adaptor protein between its recruiting factor TPX2/Aurora A and the effector katanin.

Puri et al. demonstrate that the Kinesin-13 family microtubule catastrophe factor is a critical determinant of neuronal microtubule dynamics and polarity. This work provides a mechanistic link between Wnt signaling and Kinesin-13 in establishing microtubule polarity in touch neurons of C. elegans.

Sander et al. have parsed the lipid composition of native-source photoreceptor disks and found large differences in fatty acid unsaturation and chain length between the center and rim regions. They selectively copurified membrane proteins and lipids from each region in SMALPs using nanobodies and antibodies.

Gupta et al. investigate forces generated during cell division in confining epithelial monolayers. In addition to finding that cells generate forces during mitotic rounding, they find that cells generate protrusive forces along the division axis that drive elongation and outward forces that facilitate postdivision spreading.

Belew et al. report that C. elegans primordial germ cells become transcriptionally repressed if embryos hatch without nutrients. They also describe a novel pathway whereby condensin II and TOP-2 regulate heterochromatin to compact the germline genome to globally repress transcription.

Chandrakumar et al. reveal that lumen formation in epithelial cells is regulated by ADP-ribosylation and ubiquitylation. Tankyrase inhibits its substrates SH3BP5 and SH3BP5L, which are Rab11a guanine nucleotide exchange factors, while the E3 ligase RNF146 promotes Rab11a activity by degrading Tankyrase during lumenogenesis.