Microtubule nucleation for spindle assembly: one molecule at a time

The cell orchestrates the dance of chromosome segregation with remarkable speed and fidelity. The mitotic spindle is built from scratch after interphase through microtubule (MT) nucleation, which is dependent on the γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC), the universal MT template. Although several MT nucleation pathways build the spindle framework, the question of when and how γ-TuRC is targeted to these nucleation sites in the spindle and subsequently activated remains an active area of investigation. Recent advances facilitated the discovery of new MT nucleation effectors and their mechanisms of action. In this review, we illuminate each spindle assembly pathway and subsequently consider how the pathways are merged to build a spindle.