scholarly journals Building the cytokinetic contractile ring in an early embryo: initiation as clusters of myosin II, anillin and septin, and visualization of a septin filament network

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Garno ◽  
Zoe H. Irons ◽  
Courtney M. Gamache ◽  
Xufeng Wu ◽  
Charles B. Shuster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Urchin ◽  
Animal Cell ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Order Structure ◽  
Contractile Ring ◽  
Sea Urchin Embryos ◽  
Structural Progression ◽  
Filament Network ◽  
Septin Filament

The cytokinetic contractile ring (CR) was first described some 50 years ago, however our understanding of the assembly and structure of the animal cell CR remains incomplete. We recently reported that mature CRs in sea urchin embryos contain myosin II mini-filaments organized into aligned concatenated arrays, and that in early CRs myosin II formed discrete clusters that transformed into the linearized structure over time. The present study extends our previous work by addressing the hypothesis that these myosin II clusters also contain the crucial scaffolding proteins anillin and septin, known to help link actin, myosin II, RhoA, and the membrane during cytokinesis. Super-resolution imaging of cortices from dividing embryos indicates that within each cluster, anillin and septin2 occupy a centralized position relative to the myosin II mini-filaments. As CR formation progresses, the myosin II, septin and anillin containing clusters enlarge and coalesce into patchy and faintly linear patterns. Our super-resolution images provide the initial visualization of anillin and septin nanostructure within an animal cell CR, including evidence of a septin filament network. Furthermore, Latrunculin-treated embryos indicated that the localization of septin or anillin to the myosin II clusters in the early CR was not dependent on actin filaments. These results highlight the structural progression of the CR in sea urchin embryos from an array of clusters to a linearized purse string, the association of anillin and septin with this process, and provide, for the first time, the visualization of septin filament higher order structure in an animal cell CR.

scholarly journals Building the cytokinetic contractile ring in an early embryo: Initiation as clusters of myosin II, anillin and septin, and visualization of a septin filament network

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0252845
Author(s):  
Chelsea Garno ◽  
Zoe H. Irons ◽  
Courtney M. Gamache ◽  
Quenelle McKim ◽  
Gabriela Reyes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Urchin ◽  
Animal Cell ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
Contractile Ring ◽  
Sea Urchin Embryos ◽  
Structural Progression ◽  
Filament Network ◽  
Septin Filament

The cytokinetic contractile ring (CR) was first described some 50 years ago, however our understanding of the assembly and structure of the animal cell CR remains incomplete. We recently reported that mature CRs in sea urchin embryos contain myosin II mini-filaments organized into aligned concatenated arrays, and that in early CRs myosin II formed discrete clusters that transformed into the linearized structure over time. The present study extends our previous work by addressing the hypothesis that these myosin II clusters also contain the crucial scaffolding proteins anillin and septin, known to help link actin, myosin II, RhoA, and the membrane during cytokinesis. Super-resolution imaging of cortices from dividing embryos indicates that within each cluster, anillin and septin2 occupy a centralized position relative to the myosin II mini-filaments. As CR formation progresses, the myosin II, septin and anillin containing clusters enlarge and coalesce into patchy and faintly linear patterns. Our super-resolution images provide the initial visualization of anillin and septin nanostructure within an animal cell CR, including evidence of a septin filament-like network. Furthermore, Latrunculin-treated embryos indicated that the localization of septin or anillin to the myosin II clusters in the early CR was not dependent on actin filaments. These results highlight the structural progression of the CR in sea urchin embryos from an array of clusters to a linearized purse string, the association of anillin and septin with this process, and provide the visualization of an apparent septin filament network with the CR structure of an animal cell.

scholarly journals Myosins generate contractile force and maintain organization in the cytokinetic contractile ring

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary A. McDargh ◽  
Shuyuan Wang ◽  
Harvey F. Chin ◽  
Sathish Thiyagarajan ◽  
Erdem Karatekin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Striated Muscle ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Contractile Ring ◽  
Ring Model ◽  
Self Assembling

During cytokinesis, cells assemble an actomyosin contractile ring whose tension constricts and divides cells, but the ring tension was rarely measured. Actomyosin force generation is well understood for the regular sarcomeric architecture of striated muscle, but recent super-resolution studies of fission yeast contractile rings revealed organizational building blocks that are not sarcomeres but irregularly positioned plasma membrane-anchored protein complexes called nodes. Here, we measured contractile ring tensions in fission yeast protoplast cells. The myosin II isoforms Myo2 and Myp2 generated the tension, with a ~2-fold greater contribution from Myo2. Simulations of a molecularly detailed ring model revealed a sliding node mechanism for tension, where nodes hosting tense actin filaments were pulled bidirectionally around the ring. Myo2 and Myp2 chaperoned self-assembling components into the ring organization, and anchored the ring against bridging instabilities. Thus, beyond force production, Myo2 and Myp2 are the principal organizers, bundlers and anchors of the contractile ring.

scholarly journals A novel coordinated function of Myosin II with GOLPH3 controls centralspindlin localization during cytokinesis in Drosophila

2020 ◽  
Vol 133 (21) ◽  
pp. jcs252965
Author(s):  
Stefano Sechi ◽  
Anna Frappaolo ◽  
Angela Karimpour-Ghahnavieh ◽  
Roberta Fraschini ◽  
Maria Grazia Giansanti
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Light Chain ◽  
Animal Cell ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Contractile Ring ◽  
Ring Assembly ◽  
Missense Allele ◽  
Phosphatidylinositol 4 ◽  
Muscle Myosin

ABSTRACTIn animal cell cytokinesis, interaction of non-muscle myosin II (NMII) with F-actin provides the dominant force for pinching the mother cell into two daughters. Here we demonstrate that celibe (cbe) is a missense allele of zipper, which encodes the Drosophila Myosin heavy chain. Mutation of cbe impairs binding of Zipper protein to the regulatory light chain Spaghetti squash (Sqh). In dividing spermatocytes from cbe males, Sqh fails to concentrate at the equatorial cortex, resulting in thin actomyosin rings that are unable to constrict. We show that cbe mutation impairs localization of the phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate [PI(4)P]-binding protein Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3, also known as Sauron) and maintenance of centralspindlin at the cell equator of telophase cells. Our results further demonstrate that GOLPH3 protein associates with Sqh and directly binds the centralspindlin subunit Pavarotti. We propose that during cytokinesis, the reciprocal dependence between Myosin and PI(4)P–GOLPH3 regulates centralspindlin stabilization at the invaginating plasma membrane and contractile ring assembly.

scholarly journals Molecular organization of cytokinesis nodes and contractile rings by super-resolution fluorescence microscopy of live fission yeast

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (40) ◽  
pp. E5876-E5885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Laplante ◽  
Fang Huang ◽  
Irene R. Tebbs ◽  
Joerg Bewersdorf ◽  
Thomas D. Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Molecular Organization ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Contractile Ring ◽  
Actin Ring ◽  
Structural Units ◽  
Iq Motif

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.

scholarly journals Nanoscale architecture of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe contractile ring

eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan A McDonald ◽  
Abigail L Lind ◽  
Sarah E Smith ◽  
Rong Li ◽  
Kathleen L Gould
Keyword(s):  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Protein Composition ◽  
Molecular Architecture ◽  
Contractile Ring ◽  
Super Resolution Microscopy ◽  
Multiple Signaling ◽  
Signaling Components

The contractile ring is a complex molecular apparatus which physically divides many eukaryotic cells. Despite knowledge of its protein composition, the molecular architecture of the ring is not known. Here we have applied super-resolution microscopy and FRET to determine the nanoscale spatial organization of Schizosaccharomyces pombe contractile ring components relative to the plasma membrane. Similar to other membrane-tethered actin structures, we find proteins localize in specific layers relative to the membrane. The most membrane-proximal layer (0–80 nm) is composed of membrane-binding scaffolds, formin, and the tail of the essential myosin-II. An intermediate layer (80–160 nm) consists of a network of cytokinesis accessory proteins as well as multiple signaling components which influence cell division. Farthest from the membrane (160–350 nm) we find F-actin, the motor domains of myosins, and a major F-actin crosslinker. Circumferentially within the ring, multiple proteins proximal to the membrane form clusters of different sizes, while components farther from the membrane are uniformly distributed. This comprehensive organizational map provides a framework for understanding contractile ring function.

scholarly journals The ultrastructural organization of actin and myosin II filaments in the contractile ring: new support for an old model of cytokinesis

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 613-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Henson ◽  
Casey E. Ditzler ◽  
Aphnie Germain ◽  
Patrick M. Irwin ◽  
Eric T. Vogt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Cell ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
String Model ◽  
Ultrastructural Organization ◽  
Structured Illumination ◽  
Structured Illumination Microscopy ◽  
Contractile Ring ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Ring Constriction

Despite recent advances in our understanding of the components and spatial regulation of the contractile ring (CR), the precise ultrastructure of actin and myosin II within the animal cell CR remains an unanswered question. We used superresolution light microscopy and platinum replica transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to determine the structural organization of actin and myosin II in isolated cortical cytoskeletons prepared from dividing sea urchin embryos. Three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy indicated that within the CR, actin and myosin II filaments were organized into tightly packed linear arrays oriented along the axis of constriction and restricted to a narrow zone within the furrow. In contrast, myosin II filaments in earlier stages of cytokinesis were organized into small, discrete, and regularly spaced clusters. TEM showed that actin within the CR formed a dense and anisotropic array of elongate, antiparallel filaments, whereas myosin II was organized into laterally associated, head-to-head filament chains highly reminiscent of mammalian cell stress fibers. Together these results not only support the canonical “purse-string” model for contractile ring constriction, but also suggest that the CR may be derived from foci of myosin II filaments in a manner similar to what has been demonstrated in fission yeast.

scholarly journals SYNTHESIS AND STORAGE OF MICROTUBULE PROTEINS BY SEA URCHIN EMBRYOS

1971 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 516-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf A. Raff ◽  
Gerald Greenhouse ◽  
Kenneth W. Gross ◽  
Paul R. Gross
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Sea Urchin ◽  
Messenger Rna ◽  
Binding Activity ◽  
Total Soluble Protein ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Lytechinus Pictus ◽  
Sea Urchin Embryos ◽  
Tritiated Amino Acids ◽  
Vinblastine Sulfate

Studies employing colchicine binding, precipitation with vinblastine sulfate, and acrylamide gel electrophoresis confirm earlier proposals that Arbacia punctulata and Lytechinus pictus eggs and embryos contain a store of microtubule proteins. Treatment of 150,000 g supernatants from sea urchin homogenates with vinblastine sulfate precipitates about 5% of the total soluble protein, and 75% of the colchicine-binding activity. Electrophoretic examination of the precipitate reveals two very prominent bands. These have migration rates identical to those of the A and B microtubule proteins of cilia. These proteins can be made radioactive at the 16 cell stage and at hatching by pulse labeling with tritiated amino acids. By labeling for 1 hr with leucine-3H in early cleavage, then culturing embryos in the presence of unlabeled leucine, removal of newly synthesized microtubule proteins from the soluble pool can be demonstrated. Incorporation of labeled amino acids into microtubule proteins is not affected by culturing embryos continuously in 20 µg/ml of actinomycin D. Microtubule proteins appear, therefore, to be synthesized on "maternal" messenger RNA. This provides the first protein encoded by stored or "masked" mRNA in sea urchin embryos to be identified.

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