Cleavage furrow



In cell biology, the cleavage furrow is the indentation that begins the process of cleavage, by which animal and some algal cells undergo cytokinesis. The same proteins responsible for muscle contraction, actin and myosin, begin the process of forming the cleavage furrow. Plant cells do not form a cleavage furrow. Instead, plant cells begin cytokinesis with the formation of a cell plate.