cleavage furrow

id: GO:0032154
name: cleavage furrow
namespace: cellular_component
type: go
obsolete: False

Description: In animal cells, the first sign of cleavage, or cytokinesis, is the appearance of a shallow groove in the cell surface near the old metaphase plate. A contractile ring containing actin and myosin is located just inside the plasma membrane at the location of the furrow. Ring contraction is associated with centripetal growth of the membrane that deepens the cleavage furrow and divides the cytoplasm of the two daughter cells. While the term 'cleavage furrow' was initially associated with animal cells, such a structure occurs in many other types of cells, including unicellular protists.

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