scholarly journals Measuring Nanometer Scale Gradients in Spindle Microtubule Dynamics Using Model Convolution Microscopy

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 4069-4079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad G. Pearson ◽  
Melissa K. Gardner ◽  
Leocadia V. Paliulis ◽  
E. D. Salmon ◽  
David J. Odde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Microtubule Dynamics ◽  
Nanometer Scale ◽  
Spatial Gradient ◽  
Chromosome Loss ◽  
Resolution Limit ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Β Tubulin

A computational model for the budding yeast mitotic spindle predicts a spatial gradient in tubulin turnover that is produced by kinetochore-attached microtubule (kMT) plus-end polymerization and depolymerization dynamics. However, kMTs in yeast are often much shorter than the resolution limit of the light microscope, making visualization of this gradient difficult. To overcome this limitation, we combined digital imaging of fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching (FRAP) with model convolution methods to compare computer simulations at nanometer scale resolution to microscopic data. We measured a gradient in microtubule dynamics in yeast spindles at ∼65-nm spatial intervals. Tubulin turnover is greatest near kinetochores and lowest near the spindle poles. A β-tubulin mutant with decreased plus-end dynamics preserves the spatial gradient in tubulin turnover at a slower time scale, increases average kinetochore microtubule length ∼14%, and decreases tension at kinetochores. The β-tubulin mutant cells have an increased frequency of chromosome loss, suggesting that the accuracy of chromosome segregation is linked to robust kMT plus-end dynamics.

Regulation of Microtubule Assembly: The View From The End

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (S2) ◽  
pp. 80-81
Author(s):  
L. Cassimeris ◽  
C. Spittle ◽  
M. Kratzer
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Dynamic Instability ◽  
Intrinsic Property ◽  
Microtubule Dynamics ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Chromosome Movement ◽  
Spindle Formation ◽  
Associated Proteins

The mitotic spindle is responsible for chromosome movement during mitosis. It is composed of a dynamic array of microtubules and associated proteins whose assembly and constant turnover are required for both spindle formation and chromosome movement. Because microtubule assembly and turnover are necessary for chromosome segregation, we are studying how cells regulate microtubule dynamics. Microtubules are polarized polymers composed of tubulin subunits; they assemble by a process of dynamic instability where individual microtubules exist in persistent phases of elongation or rapid shortening with abrupt transitions between these two states. The switch from elongation to shortening is termed catastrophe, and the switch from shortening to elongation, rescue. Although dynamic instability is an intrinsic property of the tubulin subunits, cells use associated proteins to both speed elongation (∼ 10 fold) and regulate transitions.The only protein isolated to date capable of promoting fast polymerization consistent with rates in vivo is XMAP215, a 215 kD protein from Xenopus eggs.

scholarly journals Stu1p Is Physically Associated with β-Tubulin and Is Required for Structural Integrity of the Mitotic Spindle

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1881-1892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongwei Yin ◽  
Liru You ◽  
Danielle Pasqualone ◽  
Kristen M. Kopski ◽  
Tim C. Huffaker
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Balance Of Forces ◽  
Related Proteins ◽  
Β Tubulin

Formation of the bipolar mitotic spindle relies on a balance of forces acting on the spindle poles. The primary outward force is generated by the kinesin-related proteins of the BimC family that cross-link antiparallel interpolar microtubules and slide them past each other. Here, we provide evidence that Stu1p is also required for the production of this outward force in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the temperature-sensitive stu1–5mutant, spindle pole separation is inhibited, and preanaphase spindles collapse, with their previously separated poles being drawn together. The temperature sensitivity of stu1–5 can be suppressed by doubling the dosage of Cin8p, a yeast BimC kinesin–related protein. Stu1p was observed to be a component of the mitotic spindle localizing to the midregion of anaphase spindles. It also binds to microtubules in vitro, and we have examined the nature of this interaction. We show that Stu1p interacts specifically with β-tubulin and identify the domains required for this interaction on both Stu1p and β-tubulin. Taken together, these findings suggest that Stu1p binds to interpolar microtubules of the mitotic spindle and plays an essential role in their ability to provide an outward force on the spindle poles.

scholarly journals β-Tubulin C354 Mutations that Severely Decrease Microtubule Dynamics Do Not Prevent Nuclear Migration in Yeast

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2919-2932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohan L. Gupta ◽  
Claudia J. Bode ◽  
Douglas A. Thrower ◽  
Chad G. Pearson ◽  
Kathy A. Suprenant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Essential Gene ◽  
Dynamic Properties ◽  
Microtubule Dynamics ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubule ◽  
Bud Emergence ◽  
Spindle Elongation ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Β Tubulin

Microtubule dynamics are influenced by interactions of microtubules with cellular factors and by changes in the primary sequence of the tubulin molecule. Mutations of yeast β-tubulin C354, which is located near the binding site of some antimitotic compounds, reduce microtubule dynamicity greater than 90% in vivo and in vitro. The resulting intrinsically stable microtubules allowed us to determine which, if any, cellular processes are dependent on dynamic microtubules. The average number of cytoplasmic microtubules decreased from 3 in wild-type to 1 in mutant cells. The single microtubule effectively located the bud site before bud emergence. Although spindles were positioned near the bud neck at the onset of anaphase, the mutant cells were deficient in preanaphase spindle alignment along the mother-bud axis. Spindle microtubule dynamics and spindle elongation rates were also severely depressed in the mutants. The pattern and extent of cytoplasmic microtubule dynamics modulation through the cell cycle may reveal the minimum dynamic properties required to support growth. The ability to alter intrinsic microtubule dynamics and determine the in vivo phenotype of cells expressing the mutant tubulin provides a critical advance in assessing the dynamic requirements of an essential gene function.

scholarly journals Human kinetochores are swivel joints that mediate microtubule attachments

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris A Smith ◽  
Andrew D McAinsh ◽  
Nigel J Burroughs
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Sister Chromatid ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Mechanical Process ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Chromatid Cohesion ◽  
Sister Kinetochore ◽  
Dynamic Microtubule

Chromosome segregation is a mechanical process that requires assembly of the mitotic spindle – a dynamic microtubule-based force-generating machine. Connections to this spindle are mediated by sister kinetochore pairs, that form dynamic end-on attachments to microtubules emanating from opposite spindle poles. This bi-orientation generates forces that have been reported to stretch the kinetochore itself, which has been suggested to stabilise attachment and silence the spindle checkpoint. We reveal using three dimensional tracking that the outer kinetochore domain can swivel around the inner kinetochore/centromere, which results in large reductions in intra-kinetochore distance (delta) when viewed in lower dimensions. We show that swivel provides a mechanical flexibility that enables kinetochores at the periphery of the spindle to engage microtubules. Swivel reduces as cells approach anaphase, suggesting an organisational change linked to checkpoint satisfaction and/or obligatory changes in kinetochore mechanochemistry may occur before dissolution of sister chromatid cohesion.

scholarly journals K-fiber bundles in the mitotic spindle are mechanically reinforced by Kif15

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus A Begley ◽  
April L Solon ◽  
Elizabeth Mae Davis ◽  
Michael Grant Sherrill ◽  
Ryoma Ohi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Binding Ability ◽  
Microtubule Binding ◽  
Mechanical Integrity ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Rigor State ◽  
Physical Response

The mitotic spindle, a self-constructed microtubule-based machine, segregates chromosomes during cell division. In mammalian cells, microtubule bundles called kinetochore-fibers (k-fibers) connect chromosomes to the spindle poles. Chromosome segregation thus depends on the mechanical integrity of k-fibers. Here, we investigate the physical and molecular basis of k-fiber bundle cohesion. We detach k-fibers from poles by laser ablation-based cutting, thus revealing the contribution of pole-localized forces to k-fiber cohesion. We then measure the physical response of the remaining kinetochore-bound segments of the k-fibers. We observe that microtubules within ablated k-fibers often splay apart from their minus-ends. Furthermore, we find that minus-end clustering forces induced by ablation seem at least partially responsible for k-fiber splaying. We also investigate the role of the k-fiber-binding kinesin-12 Kif15. We find that pharmacological inhibition of Kif15-microtubule binding reduces the mechanical integrity of k-fibers. In contrast, inhibition of its motor activity but not its microtubule binding ability, i.e., locking Kif15 into a rigor state, does not greatly affect splaying. Altogether, the data suggest that forces holding k-fibers together are of similar magnitude to other spindle forces, and that Kif15, acting as a microtubule crosslinker, helps fortify and repair k-fibers. This feature of Kif15 may help support robust k-fiber function and prevent chromosome segregation errors. [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text]

scholarly journals Nnf1p, Dsn1p, Mtw1p, and Nsl1p: a New Group of Proteins Important for Chromosome Segregation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghia M. Euskirchen
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Nuclear Envelope ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Indirect Immunofluorescence ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Reverse Genetics ◽  
Essential Gene ◽  
Genetic Interactions ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Spindle Poles

ABSTRACT Previously, antibodies were raised against a nuclear envelope-enriched fraction of yeast, and the essential gene NNF1 was cloned by reverse genetics. Here it is shown that the conditional nnf1-17 mutant has decreased stability of a minichromosome in addition to mitotic spindle defects. I have identified the novel essential genes DSN1, DSN3, and NSL1 through genetic interactions with nnf1-17. Dsn3p was found to be equivalent to the kinetochore protein Mtw1p. By indirect immunofluorescence, all four proteins, Nnf1p, Mtw1p, Dsn1p, and Nsl1p, colocalize and are found in the region of the spindle poles. Based on the colocalization of these four proteins, the minichromosome instability and the spindle defects seen in nnf1 mutants, I propose that Nnf1p is part of a new group of proteins necessary for chromosome segregation.

scholarly journals Fission Yeast dim1+ Encodes a Functionally Conserved Polypeptide Essential for Mitosis

1997 ◽  
Vol 137 (6) ◽  
pp. 1337-1354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne D. Berry ◽  
Kathleen L. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Kinase Activity ◽  
Nuclear Division ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Restrictive Temperature ◽  
Sensitive Mutant ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Mutant Cells

In a screen for second site mutations capable of reducing the restrictive temperature of the fission yeast mutant cdc2-D217N, we have isolated a novel temperature-sensitive mutant, dim1-35. When shifted to restrictive temperature, dim1-35 mutant cells arrest before entry into mitosis or proceed through mitosis in the absence of nuclear division, demonstrating an uncoupling of proper DNA segregation from other cell cycle events. Deletion of dim1 from the Schizosaccharomyces pombe genome produces a lethal G2 arrest phenotype. Lethality is rescued by overexpression of the mouse dim1 homolog, mdim1. Likewise, deletion of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae dim1 homolog, CDH1, is lethal. Both mdim1 and dim1+ are capable of rescuing lethality in the cdh1::HIS3 mutant. Although dim1-35 displays no striking genetic interactions with various other G2/M or mitotic mutants, dim1-35 cells incubated at restrictive temperature arrest with low histone H1 kinase activity. Morevoer, dim1-35 displays sensitivity to the microtubule destabilizing drug, thiabendazole (TBZ). We conclude that Dim1p plays a fundamental, evolutionarily conserved role as a protein essential for entry into mitosis as well as for chromosome segregation during mitosis. Based on TBZ sensitivity and failed chromosome segregation in dim1-35, we further speculate that Dim1p may play a role in mitotic spindle formation and/or function.

scholarly journals The negatively charged carboxy-terminal tail of β-tubulin promotes proper chromosome segregation

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 1786-1796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colby P. Fees ◽  
Jayne Aiken ◽  
Eileen T. O’Toole ◽  
Thomas H. Giddings ◽  
Jeffrey K. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Chromosome Loss ◽  
Molecular Features ◽  
Charged Amino Acids ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Carboxy Terminal ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient

Despite the broadly conserved role of microtubules in chromosome segregation, we have a limited understanding of how molecular features of tubulin proteins contribute to the underlying mechanisms. Here we investigate the negatively charged carboxy-terminal tail domains (CTTs) of α- and β-tubulins, using a series of mutants that alter or ablate CTTs in budding yeast. We find that ablating β-CTT causes elevated rates of chromosome loss and cell cycle delay. Complementary live-cell imaging and electron tomography show that β-CTT is necessary to properly position kinetochores and organize microtubules within the assembling spindle. We identify a minimal region of negatively charged amino acids that is necessary and sufficient for proper chromosome segregation and provide evidence that this function may be conserved across species. Our results provide the first in vivo evidence of a specific role for tubulin CTTs in chromosome segregation. We propose that β-CTT promotes the ordered segregation of chromosomes by stabilizing the spindle and contributing to forces that move chromosomes toward the spindle poles.

scholarly journals Fission Yeast Bub1 Is a Mitotic Centromere Protein Essential for the Spindle Checkpoint and the Preservation of Correct Ploidy through Mitosis

1998 ◽  
Vol 143 (7) ◽  
pp. 1775-1787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Bernard ◽  
Kevin Hardwick ◽  
Jean-Paul Javerzat
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Genomic Instability ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Spindle Checkpoint ◽  
Chromosome Loss ◽  
Checkpoint Response ◽  
Chromosome Missegregation ◽  
Centromere Function

The spindle checkpoint ensures proper chromosome segregation by delaying anaphase until all chromosomes are correctly attached to the mitotic spindle. We investigated the role of the fission yeast bub1 gene in spindle checkpoint function and in unperturbed mitoses. We find that bub1+ is essential for the fission yeast spindle checkpoint response to spindle damage and to defects in centromere function. Activation of the checkpoint results in the recruitment of Bub1 to centromeres and a delay in the completion of mitosis. We show that Bub1 also has a crucial role in normal, unperturbed mitoses. Loss of bub1 function causes chromosomes to lag on the anaphase spindle and an increased frequency of chromosome loss. Such genomic instability is even more dramatic in Δbub1 diploids, leading to massive chromosome missegregation events and loss of the diploid state, demonstrating that bub1+ function is essential to maintain correct ploidy through mitosis. As in larger eukaryotes, Bub1 is recruited to kinetochores during the early stages of mitosis. However, unlike its vertebrate counterpart, a pool of Bub1 remains centromere-associated at metaphase and even until telophase. We discuss the possibility of a role for the Bub1 kinase after the metaphase–anaphase transition.

scholarly journals Chromosome bi-orientation on the mitotic spindle

2005 ◽  
Vol 360 (1455) ◽  
pp. 581-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoyuki U Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Budding Yeast ◽  
Aurora B ◽  
Cohesin Complex ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Anaphase Onset ◽  
Sister Kinetochore ◽  
Dependent Mechanism

For proper chromosome segregation, sister kinetochores must attach to microtubules extending from opposite spindle poles prior to anaphase onset. This state is called sister kinetochore bi-orientation or chromosome bi-orientation. The mechanism ensuring chromosome bi-orientation lies at the heart of chromosome segregation, but is still poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that mal-oriented kinetochore-to-pole connections are corrected in a tension-dependent mechanism. The cohesin complex and the Ipl1/Aurora B protein kinase seem to be key regulators for this correction. In this article, I discuss how cells ensure sister kinetochore bi-orientation for all chromosomes, mainly focusing on our recent findings in budding yeast.

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