If fine glass needles are used to manipulate a chromosome insidea living cell during early M phase, it is possible to trick thekinetochores on the two sister chromatids into attaching to thesame spindle pole. This arrangement is normally unstable, but theattachments can be stabilized if the needle is used to gently pullthe chromosomes so that the mictotubules attached to bothkinetochores (via the same spindle pole) are under tension. Whatdoes this suggest to you about the mechanism by which kinetochoresnormally become attached and stay atached to microtubules fromopposite spindle poles? Is this finding consistent with thepossibility that a kentochore is programmed to attach tomictotubules from a particular spindle pole? Explain youranswer.
