Abstract
We report a morphological manipulation of cell division which was achieved by changing the environment from isotonic to highly hypotonic. Cells at telophase were observed to undergo a morphological reversal to anaphase, with the contractile ring being reopened and the cell shape reversing from dumb-bell back to spherical. Once restored to isosmotic environment, the reversed cells would either continue to divide or instead to form binuclear cells that further proliferated in runaway fashions. The immunofluorescent staining of tubulins and myosin II indicated that the hypotonic stress affected the accumulation of tubulins and myosin II at the contractile ring. Distinct from previous studies using specific chemical reagents, the present study provides a simple method to manipulate cell division. The morphological reversal is the adaption of dividing cells to the environmental change. The observation opens a new window to understand cell division mechanisms and runaways.