# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Microtubule and mitosis dynamics Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/microtubule-and-mitosis-dynamics/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Microtubule and mitosis dynamics research in the Class of 2026?

Research in microtubule and mitosis dynamics is rapidly transitioning from descriptive cellular imaging to atomic-level structural mechanism. The Class of 2026 is highlighted by a major rise in γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC) architectures, 13-protofilament microtubule nucleation, and Cryo-ET imaging, coupled with PLK1 and Ndc80 kinetochore regulation preventing chromosome mis-segregation.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Microtubule and mitosis dynamics |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 2,954 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | γ-tubulin ring complex, Cryo-ET, PLK1, 13-protofilament microtubule, Cryo-EM |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 23–75 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved Jul 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Chromosomal instability as a driver of cancer progression | Xuelan Chen, Albert S Agustinus, Jun Li, Melody DiBona, Samuel F Bakhoum | Samuel F. Bakhoum | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, United States | Nature Reviews Genetics | 75 | 10.1038/s41576-024-00761-7 |
| 2 | Mechanism and regulation of kinesin motors | Ahmet Yildiz | Ahmet Yıldız | University of California at Berkeley, United States | Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology | 57 | 10.1038/s41580-024-00780-6 |
| 3 | Time-series reconstruction of the molecular architecture of human centriole assembly | Marine H Laporte, Davide Gambarotto, Éloïse Bertiaux, Lorène Bournonville, Vincent Louvel, José M Nunes, Susanne Borgers, Virginie Hamel, Paul Guichard | Virginie Hamel, Paul Guichard | University of Geneva, Switzerland | Cell | 49 | 10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.025 |
| 4 | Molecular mechanism of dynein-dynactin complex assembly by LIS1 | Kashish Singh, Clinton K Lau, Giulia Manigrasso, José B Gama, Reto Gassmann, Andrew P Carter | Kashish Singh, Clinton K. Lau, Andrew P. Carter | MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, United Kingdom | Science | 45 | 10.1126/science.adk8544 |
| 5 | Control of cell proliferation by memories of mitosis | Franz Meitinger, Hazrat Belal, Robert L Davis, Mallory B Martinez, Andrew K Shiau, Karen Oegema, Arshad Desai | Franz Meitinger, Karen Oegema, Arshad Desai | University of California San Diego, United States | Science | 42 | 10.1126/science.add9528 |
| 6 | Ciliopathy patient variants reveal organelle-specific functions for TUBB4B in axonemal microtubules | Daniel O Dodd, Sabrina Mechaussier, Patricia L Yeyati, Fraser McPhie, Jacob R Anderson, Chen Jing Khoo, Amelia Shoemark, Deepesh K Gupta, Thomas Attard, Maimoona A Zariwala, Marie Legendre, Diana Bracht, Julia Wallmeier, Miao Gui, Mahmoud R Fassad, David A Parry, Peter A Tennant, Alison Meynert, Gabrielle Wheway, Lucas Fares-Taie, Holly A Black, Rana Mitri-Frangieh, Catherine Faucon, Josseline Kaplan, Mitali Patel, Lisa McKie, Roly Megaw, Christos Gatsogiannis, Mai A Mohamed, Stuart Aitken, Philippe Gautier, Finn R Reinholt, Robert A Hirst, Chris O'Callaghan, Ketil Heimdal, Mathieu Bottier, Estelle Escudier, Suzanne Crowley, Maria Descartes, Ethylin W Jabs, Priti Kenia, Jeanne Amiel, Giacomo Maria Bacci, Claudia Calogero, Viviana Palazzo, Lucia Tiberi, Ulrike Blümlein, Andrew Rogers, Jennifer A Wambach, Daniel J Wegner, Anne B Fulton, Margaret Kenna, Margaret Rosenfeld, Ingrid A Holm, Alan Quigley, Emma A Hall, Laura C Murphy, Diane M Cassidy, Alex von Kriegsheim, Scottish Genomes Partnership16, Genomics England Research Consortium45, Undiagnosed Diseases Network46, Jean-François Papon, Laurent Pasquier, Marlène S Murris, James D Chalmers, Claire Hogg, Kenneth A Macleod, Don S Urquhart, Stefan Unger, Timothy J Aitman, Serge Amselem, Margaret W Leigh, Michael R Knowles, Heymut Omran, Hannah M Mitchison, Alan Brown, Joseph A Marsh, Julie P I Welburn, Shih-Chieh Ti, Amjad Horani, Jean-Michel Rozet, Isabelle Perrault, Pleasantine Mill | Daniel O. Dodd, Sabrina Mechaussier, Isabelle Perrault, Pleasantine Mill | University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom | Science | 38 | 10.1126/science.adf5489 |
| 7 | Ultraviolet Superradiance from Mega-Networks of Tryptophan in Biological Architectures | N S Babcock, G Montes-Cabrera, K E Oberhofer, M Chergui, G L Celardo, P Kurian | Philip Kurian | Howard University, United States | The Journal of Physical Chemistry B | 35 | 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c07936 |
| 8 | Compression-dependent microtubule reinforcement enables cells to navigate confined environments | Robert J Ju, Alistair D Falconer, Christanny J Schmidt, Marco A Enriquez Martinez, Kevin M Dean, Reto P Fiolka, David P Sester, Max Nobis, Paul Timpson, Alexis J Lomakin, Gaudenz Danuser, Melanie D White, Nikolas K Haass, Dietmar B Oelz, Samantha J Stehbens | Dietmar Oelz, Samantha J. Stehbens | Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Australia | Nature Cell Biology | 35 | 10.1038/s41556-024-01476-x |
| 9 | Transition of human γ-tubulin ring complex into a closed conformation during microtubule nucleation | Cláudia Brito, Marina Serna, Pablo Guerra, Oscar Llorca, Thomas Surrey | Cláudia Brito, Marina Serna, Óscar Llorca, Thomas Surrey | Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Spain | Science | 34 | 10.1126/science.adk6160 |
| 10 | Endoplasmic reticulum–plasma membrane contact gradients direct cell migration | Bo Gong, Jake D Johnston, Alexander Thiemicke, Alex de Marco, Tobias Meyer | Bo Gong, Tobias Meyer | Weill Cornell Medicine, United States | Nature | 32 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07527-5 |
| 11 | Mechanisms of minor pole–mediated spindle bipolarization in human oocytes | Tianyu Wu, Yuxi Luo, Meiling Zhang, Biaobang Chen, Xingzhu Du, Hao Gu, Siyuan Xie, Zhiqi Pan, Ran Yu, Ruiqi Hai, Xiangli Niu, Guimin Hao, Liping Jin, Juanzi Shi, Xiaoxi Sun, Yanping Kuang, Wen Li, Qing Sang, Lei Wang | Tianyu Wu, Yuxi Luo, Meiling Zhang, Biaobang Chen, Wen Li, Qing Sang, Lei Wang | Fudan University, China | Science | 32 | 10.1126/science.ado1022 |
| 12 | Structure of the γ-tubulin ring complex-capped microtubule | Amol Aher, Linas Urnavicius, Allen Xue, Kasahun Neselu, Tarun M Kapoor | Tarun M. Kapoor | The Rockefeller University, United States | Nature Structural & Molecular Biology | 30 | 10.1038/s41594-024-01264-z |
| 13 | Paradoxical Activation of Oncogenic Signaling as a Cancer Treatment Strategy | Matheus Henrique Dias, Anoek Friskes, Siying Wang, Joao M Fernandes Neto, Frank van Gemert, Soufiane Mourragui, Chrysa Papagianni, Hendrik J Kuiken, Sara Mainardi, Daniel Alvarez-Villanueva, Cor Lieftink, Ben Morris, Anna Dekker, Emma van Dijk, Lieke H S Wilms, Marcelo S da Silva, Robin A Jansen, Antonio Mulero-Sánchez, Elke Malzer, August Vidal, Cristina Santos, Ramón Salazar, Rosangela A M Wailemann, Thompson E P Torres, Giulia De Conti, Jonne A Raaijmakers, Petur Snaebjornsson, Shengxian Yuan, Wenxin Qin, John S Kovach, Hugo A Armelin, Hein Te Riele, Alexander van Oudenaarden, Haojie Jin, Roderick L Beijersbergen, Alberto Villanueva, Rene H Medema, Rene Bernards | John S Kovach | Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc., United States | Cancer Discovery | 29 | 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-23-0216 |
| 14 | Mitotic chromosomes are self-entangled and disentangle through a topoisomerase-II-dependent two-stage exit from mitosis | Erica M Hildebrand, Kirill Polovnikov, Bastiaan Dekker, Yu Liu, Denis L Lafontaine, A Nicole Fox, Ying Li, Sergey V Venev, Leonid A Mirny, Job Dekker | Leonid A. Mirny, Job Dekker | University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, United States | Molecular Cell | 29 | 10.1016/j.molcel.2024.02.025 |
| 15 | Vertebrate centromeres in mitosis are functionally bipartite structures stabilized by cohesin | Carlos Sacristan, Kumiko Samejima, Lorena Andrade Ruiz, Moonmoon Deb, Maaike L A Lambers, Adam Buckle, Chris A Brackley, Daniel Robertson, Tetsuya Hori, Shaun Webb, Robert Kiewisz, Tristan Bepler, Eloïse van Kwawegen, Patrik Risteski, Kruno Vukušić, Iva M Tolić, Thomas Müller-Reichert, Tatsuo Fukagawa, Nick Gilbert, Davide Marenduzzo, William C Earnshaw, Geert J P L Kops | Carlos Sacristán, Kumiko Samejima, William C. Earnshaw, Geert J.P.L. Kops | Hubrecht Institute, Netherlands | Cell | 29 | 10.1016/j.cell.2024.04.014 |
| 16 | Onvansertib in Combination with FOLFIRI and Bevacizumab in Second-Line Treatment of <i>KRAS</i> -Mutant Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Phase Ib Clinical Study | Daniel H Ahn, Afsaneh Barzi, Maya Ridinger, Errin Samuëlsz, Ramanand A Subramanian, Chu-Chiao Wu, Peter J P Croucher, Tod Smeal, Fairooz F Kabbinavar, Heinz-Josef Lenz | Daniel H Ahn, Afsaneh Barzi, Maya Ridinger | Mayo Clinic, United States | Clinical Cancer Research | 28 | 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-23-3053 |
| 17 | Role of protein kinase PLK1 in the epigenetic maintenance of centromeres | Duccio Conti, Arianna Esposito Verza, Marion E Pesenti, Verena Cmentowski, Ingrid R Vetter, Dongqing Pan, Andrea Musacchio | Duccio Conti, Andrea Musacchio | Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Germany | Science | 28 | 10.1126/science.ado5178 |
| 18 | Life-cycle-coupled evolution of mitosis in close relatives of animals | Hiral Shah, Marine Olivetta, Chandni Bhickta, Paolo Ronchi, Monika Trupinić, Eelco C Tromer, Iva M Tolić, Yannick Schwab, Omaya Dudin, Gautam Dey | Hiral Shah, Omaya Dudin, G.K. Dey | European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Germany | Nature | 25 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07430-z |
| 19 | Orientation-independent-DIC imaging reveals that a transient rise in depletion attraction contributes to mitotic chromosome condensation | Shiori Iida, Satoru Ide, Sachiko Tamura, Masaki Sasai, Tomomi Tani, Tatsuhiko Goto, Michael Shribak, Kazuhiro Maeshima | Michael Shribak, Kazuhiro Maeshima | National Institute of Genetics, Japan | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 25 | 10.1073/pnas.2403153121 |
| 20 | Structure of the human outer kinetochore KMN network complex | Stanislau Yatskevich, Jing Yang, Dom Bellini, Ziguo Zhang, David Barford | Stanislau Yatskevich, David Barford | MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, United Kingdom | Nature Structural & Molecular Biology | 23 | 10.1038/s41594-024-01249-y |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

Research in microtubule and mitosis dynamics within the Class of 2026 centers on high-resolution structural architectures and key regulatory mechanisms controlling chromosome segregation. Structural determination via cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) and cryo-electron tomography (Cryo-ET) dominates the landscape, enabling atomic-level visualization of complex cellular machinery in situ. A primary focal point is the γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC), which accounts for 14% of normalized concept mentions in top-cited literature, alongside 13-protofilament microtubule lattice templates that dictate nucleation geometry. Kinetochore-microtubule attachments are another central hub, with prominent investigation into the Ndc80 complex, KMN network, and associated coiled-coil domain proteins. Regulation of mitotic progression is heavily defined by key kinases including Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) and Aurora B kinase (AURKB), which orchestrate error correction, spindle assembly checkpoint signaling, and mechanical force generation across the spindle apparatus. Together, these studies highlight how structural insights into nucleation complexes and kinase signaling cascades converge to explain mechanisms preventing chromosome mis-segregation during mitosis.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

Between the Class of 2025 and the Class of 2026, research in microtubule and mitosis dynamics experienced a pronounced shift from descriptive, broad-scale cellular imaging toward atomic and sub-nanometer structural mechanism. The most striking emerging trend is the surge in γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC) structural studies, rising from 0% in 2023 to 14% of paper mentions in 2024. Similarly, 13-protofilament microtubule nucleation jumped from 0% to 10%, while cryo-electron tomography (Cryo-ET) expanded fivefold from 2% to 10%. Functional focus on Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) expanded from 4% to 10%, and chromosome mis-segregation mechanisms grew fourfold to 8%. Conversely, broader phenotypic tracking and general imaging methodologies saw relative declines; single-molecule imaging dropped from 8% down to 4%, while general clinical phenotypes like aneuploidy and genomic instability decreased from 6% to 4%. Meanwhile, foundational structural methodologies like Cryo-EM (10%) and coiled-coil domain analyses (8%) remained steady workhorses. This evolution reflects a field rapidly consolidating around structural biophysics and site-specific enzymatic control of centrosomal and kinetochore assemblies.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Microtubule and mitosis dynamics Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/microtubule-and-mitosis-dynamics/2026. Accessed 2026-07-23.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
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