scholarly journals A Link between Aurora Kinase and Clp1/Cdc14 Regulation Uncovered by the Identification of a Fission Yeast Borealin-Like Protein

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 3646-3659 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Adam Bohnert ◽  
Jun-Song Chen ◽  
Dawn M. Clifford ◽  
Craig W. Vander Kooi ◽  
Kathleen L. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Kinase Activity ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Aurora Kinase ◽  
Genetic Interactions ◽  
Aurora B ◽  
Contractile Ring ◽  
Chromosomal Passenger

The chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) regulates various events in cell division. This complex is composed of a catalytic subunit, Aurora B kinase, and three nonenzymatic subunits, INCENP, Survivin, and Borealin. Together, these four subunits interdependently regulate CPC function, and they are highly conserved among eukaryotes. However, a Borealin homologue has never been characterized in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe . Here, we isolate a previously uncharacterized S. pombe protein through association with the Cdc14 phosphatase homologue, Clp1/Flp1, and identify it as a Borealin-like member of the CPC. Nbl1 (novel Borealin-like 1) physically associates with known CPC components, affects the kinase activity and stability of the S. pombe Aurora B homologue, Ark1, colocalizes with known CPC subunits during mitosis, and shows sequence similarity to human Borealin. Further analysis of the Clp1–Nbl1 interaction indicates that Clp1 requires CPC activity for proper accumulation at the contractile ring (CR). Consistent with this, we describe negative genetic interactions between mutant alleles of CPC and CR components. Thus, this study characterizes a fission yeast Borealin homologue and reveals a previously unrecognized connection between the CPC and the process of cytokinesis in S. pombe .

scholarly journals Phosphorylation at serine 331 is required for Aurora B activation

2011 ◽  
Vol 195 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Petsalaki ◽  
Tonia Akoumianaki ◽  
Elizabeth J. Black ◽  
David A.F. Gillespie ◽  
George Zachos
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Kinase Activity ◽  
Aurora B ◽  
Aurora B Kinase ◽  
Chromosomal Passenger Complex ◽  
Chromosome Missegregation ◽  
Mitotic Delay ◽  
Chromosomal Passenger ◽  
Spontaneous Chromosome ◽  
Chk1 Kinase

Aurora B kinase activity is required for successful cell division. In this paper, we show that Aurora B is phosphorylated at serine 331 (Ser331) during mitosis and that phosphorylated Aurora B localizes to kinetochores in prometaphase cells. Chk1 kinase is essential for Ser331 phosphorylation during unperturbed prometaphase or during spindle disruption by taxol but not nocodazole. Phosphorylation at Ser331 is required for optimal phosphorylation of INCENP at TSS residues, for Survivin association with the chromosomal passenger complex, and for complete Aurora B activation, but it is dispensable for Aurora B localization to centromeres, for autophosphorylation at threonine 232, and for association with INCENP. Overexpression of Aurora BS331A, in which Ser331 is mutated to alanine, results in spontaneous chromosome missegregation, cell multinucleation, unstable binding of BubR1 to kinetochores, and impaired mitotic delay in the presence of taxol. We propose that Chk1 phosphorylates Aurora B at Ser331 to fully induce Aurora B kinase activity. These results indicate that phosphorylation at Ser331 is an essential mechanism for Aurora B activation.

scholarly journals Assembly of normal actomyosin rings in the absence of Mid1p and cortical nodes in fission yeast

2008 ◽  
Vol 183 (6) ◽  
pp. 979-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinyi Huang ◽  
Hongyan Yan ◽  
Mohan K. Balasubramanian
Keyword(s):  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Ring Structure ◽  
Contractile Ring ◽  
Ring Assembly ◽  
Cell Biol ◽  
In Cells

Cytokinesis in many eukaryotes depends on the function of an actomyosin contractile ring. The mechanisms regulating assembly and positioning of this ring are not fully understood. The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe divides using an actomyosin ring and is an attractive organism for the study of cytokinesis. Recent studies in S. pombe (Wu, J.Q., V. Sirotkin, D.R. Kovar, M. Lord, C.C. Beltzner, J.R. Kuhn, and T.D. Pollard. 2006. J. Cell Biol. 174:391–402; Vavylonis, D., J.Q. Wu, S. Hao, B. O'Shaughnessy, and T.D. Pollard. 2008. Science. 319:97–100) have suggested that the assembly of the actomyosin ring is initiated from a series of cortical nodes containing several components of this ring. These studies have proposed that actomyosin interactions bring together the cortical nodes to form a compacted ring structure. In this study, we test this model in cells that are unable to assemble cortical nodes. Although the cortical nodes play a role in the timing of ring assembly, we find that they are dispensable for the assembly of orthogonal actomyosin rings. Thus, a mechanism that is independent of cortical nodes is sufficient for the assembly of normal actomyosin rings.

Overexpression Phenotypes of Plk1 and Ndrg2 in Schizosaccharomyces Pombe: Fission Yeast System for Mammalian Gene Study

2005 ◽  
Vol 277-279 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Joo Jang ◽  
Young Sook Kil ◽  
Jee Hee Ahn ◽  
Jae Hoon Ji ◽  
Jong Seok Lim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Rna Splicing ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Protein Modification ◽  
Genetic System ◽  
Functional Study ◽  
Mammalian Genes

The fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe is a single-celled free-living fungus that shares many features with cells of more complicated eukaryotes. Many of the genes required for the cell-cycle control, proteolysis, protein modification, and RNA splicing are highly conserved with those of higher eukaryotes. Moreover, fission yeast has the merit of genetics and its genetic system is already well characterized. As such, the current study evaluated the use of a fission yeast system as a tool for the functional study of mammalian genes and attempted to set up an assay system for novel genes. Since the phenotypes of a deletion mutant and the overexpression of a gene are generally analyzed for a functional study of specific genes in yeast, the present study used overexpression phenotypes to study the functions of mammalian genes. Therefore, based on using a thiamine-repressive promoter, two mammalian genes were expressed in fission yeast, and their overexpressed phenotypes compared with those in mammalian cells. The phenotypes resulting from overexpression were analyzed using a FACS, which analyzes the DNA contents, and a microscope. One of the selected genes was the mammalian Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), which is activated and plays a role in the mitotic phase of the cell division cycle. The overexpression of various constructs of Plk1 in the HeLa cells caused cell cycle defects, suggesting that the ectopic Plk1s blocked the endogenous Plk1 in the cells. As expected, when the constructs were overexpressed in the fission yeast system, the cells were arrested in mitosis and defected at the end of mitosis. As such, this data suggests that the Plk1-overexpressed phenotypes were similar in the mammalian cells and the fission yeast, thereby enabling the mammalian Plk1 functions to be approximated in the fission yeast. The other selected gene was the N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (ndrg2), which is upregulated during cell differentiation, yet still not well characterized. When the ndrg2 gene was overexpressed in the fission yeast, the cells contained multi-septa. The septa were positioned well, yet their number increased per cell. Therefore, this gene was speculated to block cell division in the last stage of the cell cycle, making the phenotype potentially useful for explaining cell growth and differentiation in mammalian cells. Accordingly, fission yeast is demonstrated to be an appropriate species for the functional study of mammalian genes.

Oxygen uptake during the cell cycle of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

1978 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 399-411
Author(s):  
J. Creanor
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Oxygen Uptake ◽  
Dna Synthesis ◽  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Nuclear Division ◽  
Synchronous Culture ◽  
Synchronous Cultures ◽  
The Many

Oxygen uptake was measured in synchronous cultures of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The rate of oxygen uptake was found to increase in a step-wise manner at the beginning of the cycle and again in the middle of the cycle. The increases in rate were such that overall, oxygen uptake doubled in rate once per cell cycle. Addition of inhibitors of DNA synthesis or nuclear division to a synchronous culture did not affect the uptake of oxygen. In an induced synchronous culture, in which DNA synthesis, cell division, and nuclear division, but not ‘growth’ were synchronized, oxygen uptake increased continuously in rate and did not show the step-wise rises which were shown in the selection-synchronized culture. These results were compared with previous measurements of oxygen uptake in yeast and an explanation is suggested for the many different patterns which have been reported.

scholarly journals Use of DT40 conditional-knockout cell lines to study chromosomal passenger protein function

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1655-1659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Fant ◽  
Kumiko Samejima ◽  
Ana Carvalho ◽  
Hiromi Ogawa ◽  
Zhenjie Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Lines ◽  
Protein Function ◽  
Kinase Activity ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Conditional Knockout ◽  
Aurora B ◽  
Aurora B Kinase ◽  
Chromosomal Passenger ◽  
Passenger Protein

The CPC [chromosomal passenger complex; INCENP (inner centromere protein), Aurora B kinase, survivin and borealin] is implicated in many mitotic processes. In the present paper we describe how we generated DT40 conditional-knockout cell lines for incenp1 and survivin1 to better understand the role of these CPC subunits in the control of Aurora B kinase activity. These lines enabled us to reassess current knowledge of survivin function and to show that INCENP acts as a rheostat for Aurora B activity.

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