Asynchronous cell cycle phase key to critical stage of animal embryonic development

The synchronous mitosis of early embryonic development switches to a patterned form at the 11th cell division following removal of a cell cycle compensatory mechanism, new research shows. An asynchronous S-phase length is masked by a compensatory asynchronous G2-phase length up to the 11th mitosis, after which the transition to spatial patterning occurs. These findings help in understanding the link between mitotic timing and embryonic development.