scholarly journals Myosin-II reorganization during mitosis is controlled temporally by its dephosphorylation and spatially by Mid1 in fission yeast

2004 ◽  
Vol 165 (5) ◽  
pp. 685-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fumio Motegi ◽  
Mithilesh Mishra ◽  
Mohan K. Balasubramanian ◽  
Issei Mabuchi

Cytokinesis in many eukaryotes requires an actomyosin contractile ring. Here, we show that in fission yeast the myosin-II heavy chain Myo2 initially accumulates at the division site via its COOH-terminal 134 amino acids independently of F-actin. The COOH-terminal region can access to the division site at early G2, whereas intact Myo2 does so at early mitosis. Ser1444 in the Myo2 COOH-terminal region is a phosphorylation site that is dephosphorylated during early mitosis. Myo2 S1444A prematurely accumulates at the future division site and promotes formation of an F-actin ring even during interphase. The accumulation of Myo2 requires the anillin homologue Mid1 that functions in proper ring placement. Myo2 interacts with Mid1 in cell lysates, and this interaction is inhibited by an S1444D mutation in Myo2. Our results suggest that dephosphorylation of Myo2 liberates the COOH-terminal region from an intramolecular inhibition. Subsequently, dephosphorylated Myo2 is anchored by Mid1 at the medial cortex and promotes the ring assembly in cooperation with F-actin.

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (10) ◽  
pp. 1813-1825 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Motegi ◽  
K. Nakano ◽  
I. Mabuchi

Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells divide by virtue of the F-actin-based contractile ring (F-actin ring). Two myosin-II heavy chains, Myo2 and Myp2/Myo3, have been localized to the F-actin ring. Here, we investigated the mechanism of myosin-II assembly at the division site in S. pombe cells. First, we showed that Cdc4, an EF-hand protein, appears to be a common myosin light chain associated with both Myo2 and Myo3. Loss of function of both Myo2 and Myo3 caused a defect in F-actin assembly at the division site, like the phenotype of cdc4 null cells. It is suggested that Myo2, Myo3 and Cdc4 function in a cooperative manner in the formation of the F-actin ring during mitosis. Next, we investigated the dynamics of myosin-II during mitosis in S. pombe cells. In early mitosis when accumulation of F-actin cables in the medial region was not yet observed, Myo2 was detected primarily as dots widely located in the medial cortex. Myo2 fibers also became visible following the appearance of the dots. The Myo2 dots and fibers then fused with each other to form a medial cortical network. Some Myo2 dots appeared to be localized with F-actin cables which are also accumulated in the medial region. Finally these structures were packed into a thin contractile ring. In mutant cells that cannot form the F-actin ring such as cdc3(ts), cdc8(ts) and cdc12(ts), Myo2 was able to accumulate as dots in the medial cortex, whereas no accumulation of Myo2 dots was detected in cdc4(ts) cells. Moreover, disruption of F-actin in the cell by applying latrunculin-A did not affect the accumulation of Myo2 dots, suggesting that F-actin is not required for their accumulation. A truncated Myo2 which lacks putative Cdc4-binding sites (Myo2dIQs) was able to rescue myo2 null cells, myo3 null cells, cdc4(ts) mutant cells and cdc4 null cells. The Myo2dIQs could assemble into a normal-shaped ring in these cells. Therefore, its assembly at the division site does not require the function of either Cdc4 or Myo3.


2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 1181-1195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanfang Ye ◽  
I-Ju Lee ◽  
Kurt W. Runge ◽  
Jian-Qiu Wu

Cytokinesis is crucial for integrating genome inheritance and cell functions. In multicellular organisms, Rho-guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and Rho GTPases are key regulators of division-plane specification and contractile-ring formation during cytokinesis, but how they regulate early steps of cytokinesis in fission yeast remains largely unknown. Here we show that putative Rho-GEF Gef2 and Polo kinase Plo1 coordinate to control the medial cortical localization and function of anillin-related protein Mid1. The division-site positioning defects of gef2∆ plo1-ts18 double mutant can be partially rescued by increasing Mid1 levels. We find that Gef2 physically interacts with the Mid1 N-terminus and modulates Mid1 cortical binding. Gef2 localization to cortical nodes and the contractile ring depends on its last 145 residues, and the DBL-homology domain is important for its function in cytokinesis. Our data suggest the interaction between Rho-GEFs and anillins is an important step in the signaling pathways during cytokinesis. In addition, Gef2 also regulates contractile-ring function late in cytokinesis and may negatively regulate the septation initiation network. Collectively, we propose that Gef2 facilitates and stabilizes Mid1 binding to the medial cortex, where the localized Mid1 specifies the division site and induces contractile-ring assembly.


2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 989-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin C. Stark ◽  
Thomas E. Sladewski ◽  
Luther W. Pollard ◽  
Matthew Lord

Myosin-II (Myo2p) and tropomyosin are essential for contractile ring formation and cytokinesis in fission yeast. Here we used a combination of in vivo and in vitro approaches to understand how these proteins function at contractile rings. We find that ring assembly is delayed in Myo2p motor and tropomyosin mutants, but occurs prematurely in cells engineered to express two copies of myo2. Thus, the timing of ring assembly responds to changes in Myo2p cellular levels and motor activity, and the emergence of tropomyosin-bound actin filaments. Doubling Myo2p levels suppresses defects in ring assembly associated with a tropomyosin mutant, suggesting a role for tropomyosin in maximizing Myo2p function. Correspondingly, tropomyosin increases Myo2p actin affinity and ATPase activity and promotes Myo2p-driven actin filament gliding in motility assays. Tropomyosin achieves this by favoring the strong actin-bound state of Myo2p. This mode of regulation reflects a role for tropomyosin in specifying and stabilizing actomyosin interactions, which facilitates contractile ring assembly in the fission yeast system.


2013 ◽  
Vol 200 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Wloka ◽  
Elizabeth A. Vallen ◽  
Lydia Thé ◽  
Xiaodong Fang ◽  
Younghoon Oh ◽  
...  

Core components of cytokinesis are conserved from yeast to human, but how these components are assembled into a robust machine that drives cytokinesis remains poorly understood. In this paper, we show by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching analysis that Myo1, the sole myosin-II in budding yeast, was mobile at the division site before anaphase and became immobilized shortly before cytokinesis. This immobility was independent of actin filaments or the motor domain of Myo1 but required a small region in the Myo1 tail that is thought to be involved in higher-order assembly. As expected, proteins involved in actin ring assembly (tropomyosin and formin) and membrane trafficking (myosin-V and exocyst) were dynamic during cytokinesis. Strikingly, proteins involved in septum formation (the chitin synthase Chs2) and/or its coordination with the actomyosin ring (essential light chain, IQGAP, F-BAR, etc.) displayed Myo1-dependent immobility during cytokinesis, suggesting that Myo1 plays a scaffolding role in the assembly of a cytokinesis machine.


2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (40) ◽  
pp. E5876-E5885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Laplante ◽  
Fang Huang ◽  
Irene R. Tebbs ◽  
Joerg Bewersdorf ◽  
Thomas D. Pollard

Cytokinesis in animals, fungi, and amoebas depends on the constriction of a contractile ring built from a common set of conserved proteins. Many fundamental questions remain about how these proteins organize to generate the necessary tension for cytokinesis. Using quantitative high-speed fluorescence photoactivation localization microscopy (FPALM), we probed this question in live fission yeast cells at unprecedented resolution. We show that nodes, protein assembly precursors to the contractile ring, are discrete structural units with stoichiometric ratios and distinct distributions of constituent proteins. Anillin Mid1p, Fes/CIP4 homology-Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (F-BAR) Cdc15p, IQ motif containing GTPase-activating protein (IQGAP) Rng2p, and formin Cdc12p form the base of the node that anchors the ends of myosin II tails to the plasma membrane, with myosin II heads extending into the cytoplasm. This general node organization persists in the contractile ring where nodes move bidirectionally during constriction. We observed the dynamics of the actin network during cytokinesis, starting with the extension of short actin strands from nodes, which sometimes connected neighboring nodes. Later in cytokinesis, a broad network of thick bundles coalesced into a tight ring around the equator of the cell. The actin ring was ∼125 nm wide and ∼125 nm thick. These observations establish the organization of the proteins in the functional units of a cytokinetic contractile ring.


2013 ◽  
Vol 203 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie C. Coffman ◽  
Jennifer A. Sees ◽  
David R. Kovar ◽  
Jian-Qiu Wu

Both de novo–assembled actin filaments at the division site and existing filaments recruited by directional cortical transport contribute to contractile ring formation during cytokinesis. However, it is unknown which source is more important. Here, we show that fission yeast formin For3 is responsible for node condensation into clumps in the absence of formin Cdc12. For3 localization at the division site depended on the F-BAR protein Cdc15, and for3 deletion was synthetic lethal with mutations that cause defects in contractile ring formation. For3 became essential in cells expressing N-terminal truncations of Cdc12, which were more active in actin assembly but depended on actin filaments for localization to the division site. In tetrad fluorescence microscopy, double mutants of for3 deletion and cdc12 truncations were severely defective in contractile ring assembly and constriction, although cortical transport of actin filaments was normal. Together, these data indicate that different formins cooperate in cytokinesis and that de novo actin assembly at the division site is predominant for contractile ring formation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 192 (6) ◽  
pp. 1005-1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damien Laporte ◽  
Valerie C. Coffman ◽  
I-Ju Lee ◽  
Jian-Qiu Wu

The contractile ring is essential for cytokinesis in most fungal and animal cells. In fission yeast, cytokinesis nodes are precursors of the contractile ring and mark the future cleavage site. However, their assembly and architecture have not been well described. We found that nodes are assembled stoichiometrically in a hierarchical order with two modules linked by the positional marker anillin Mid1. Mid1 first recruits Cdc4 and IQGAP Rng2 to form module I. Rng2 subsequently recruits the myosin-II subunits Myo2 and Rlc1. Mid1 then independently recruits the F-BAR protein Cdc15 to form module II. Mid1, Rng2, Cdc4, and Cdc15 are stable node components that accumulate close to the plasma membrane. Both modules recruit the formin Cdc12 to nucleate actin filaments. Myo2 heads point into the cell interior, where they efficiently capture actin filaments to condense nodes into the contractile ring. Collectively, our work characterizing the assembly and architecture of precursor nodes defines important steps and molecular players for contractile ring assembly.


2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (13) ◽  
pp. 2421-2432 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.C. Wong ◽  
N.I. Naqvi ◽  
Y. Iino ◽  
M. Yamamoto ◽  
M.K. Balasubramanian

Cell division in many eukaryotes, including the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, utilizes a contractile actomyosin ring. In S. pombe, the actomyosin ring is assembled at the medial cortex upon entry into mitosis and constricts at the end of anaphase to guide the centripetal deposition of the septum. Despite identification of several structural components essential for actomyosin ring assembly, the interdependencies between these gene-products in the process of ring assembly are unknown. This study investigates the role of Rng3p, a member of the UCS-domain containing protein family (Unc-45p, Cro1p, She4p), in actomyosin ring assembly. Null mutants in rng3 resemble deletion mutants in the type II myosin heavy chain (myo2) and rng3(ts) mutants show strong negative interactions with the myo2-E1 mutant, suggesting that Rng3p is involved in modulating aspects of type II myosin function. Interestingly, a green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagged Rng3p fusion is detected at the division site in the myo2-E1 mutant, but not in other myo2-alleles, wild-type cells or in 18 other cytokinesis mutants. Assembly and maintenance of Rng3p at the division site in the myo2-E1 mutant requires F-actin. Rng3p is also required for the proper assembly of Myo2p and F-actin into a functional actomyosin ring but is not necessary for their accumulation at the division site. We conclude that Rng3p is a novel component of the F-actin cytoskeleton essential for a late step in actomyosin ring assembly and that it might monitor some aspect of type II myosin assembly during actomyosin ring construction.


2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (20) ◽  
pp. 3982-3992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shambaditya Saha ◽  
Thomas D. Pollard

In fission yeast cells cortical nodes containing the protein Blt1p and several kinases appear early in G2, mature into cytokinetic nodes by adding anillin Mid1p, myosin-II, formin Cdc12p, and other proteins, and condense into a contractile ring by movements that depend on actin and myosin-II. Previous studies concluded that cells without Mid1p lack cytokinetic nodes and assemble rings unreliably from myosin-II strands but left open questions. Why do strands form outside the equatorial region? Why is ring assembly unreliable without Mid1p? We found in Δmid1 cells that Cdc12p accumulates in cytokinetic nodes scattered in the cortex and produces actin filaments that associate with myosin-II, Rng2p, and Cdc15p to form strands located between the nodes. Strands incorporate nodes, and in ∼67% of cells, strands slowly close into rings that constrict without the normal ∼25-min maturation period. Ring assembly is unreliable and slow without Mid1p because the scattered Cdc12p nodes generate strands spread widely beyond the equator, and growing strands depend on random encounters to merge with other strands into a ring. We conclude that orderly assembly of the contractile ring in wild-type cells depends on Mid1p to recruit myosin-II, Rng2p, and Cdc15p to nodes and to place cytokinetic nodes around the cell equator.


2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1933-1945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kentaro Nakano ◽  
Issei Mabuchi

The role of the actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin-family protein Adf1 in cytokinesis of fission yeast cells was studied. Adf1 was required for accumulation of actin at the division site by depolymerizing actin at the cell ends, assembly of the contractile ring through severing actin filaments, and maintenance of the contractile ring once formed. Genetic and cytological analyses suggested that it collaborates with profilin and capping protein in the mitotic reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Furthermore, it was unexpectedly found that Adf1 and myosin-II also collaborate in assembling the contractile ring. Tropomyosin was shown to antagonize the function of Adf1 in the contractile ring. We propose that formation and maintenance of the contractile ring are achieved by a balanced collaboration of these proteins.


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