Multimerization and tubulin binding are required for the SPIRAL2 protein to localize to and stabilize microtubule minus ends

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUANWEI FAN ◽  
Natasha Bilkey ◽  
Ram Dixit

Accruing evidence points to the control of microtubule minus-end dynamics as being crucial for the spatial arrangement and function of the microtubule cytoskeleton. In plants, the SPIRAL2 (SPR2) protein has emerged as a microtubule minus-end regulator that is structurally distinct from the animal minus-end regulators. Previously, SPR2 was shown to autonomously localize to microtubule minus ends and decrease their depolymerization rate. Here, we used in vitro and in planta experiments to identify the structural determinants required for SPR2 to recognize and stabilize microtubule minus ends. We show that SPR2 contains a single N-terminal TOG domain that binds to soluble tubulin. The TOG domain, a basic region, and coiled-coil domain are necessary and sufficient to target and stabilize microtubule minus ends. We demonstrate that the coiled-coil domain mediates multimerization of SPR2 that provides avidity for microtubule binding and is essential for binding to soluble tubulin. While TOG domain-containing proteins are traditionally thought to function as microtubule plus-end regulators, our results reveal that nature has repurposed the TOG domain of SPR2 to regulate microtubule minus ends.

2002 ◽  
Vol 159 (6) ◽  
pp. 993-1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine L. Humphries ◽  
Heath I. Balcer ◽  
Jessica L. D'Agostino ◽  
Barbara Winsor ◽  
David G. Drubin ◽  
...  

Mechanisms for activating the actin-related protein 2/3 (Arp2/3) complex have been the focus of many recent studies. Here, we identify a novel mode of Arp2/3 complex regulation mediated by the highly conserved actin binding protein coronin. Yeast coronin (Crn1) physically associates with the Arp2/3 complex and inhibits WA- and Abp1-activated actin nucleation in vitro. The inhibition occurs specifically in the absence of preformed actin filaments, suggesting that Crn1 may restrict Arp2/3 complex activity to the sides of filaments. The inhibitory activity of Crn1 resides in its coiled coil domain. Localization of Crn1 to actin patches in vivo and association of Crn1 with the Arp2/3 complex also require its coiled coil domain. Genetic studies provide in vivo evidence for these interactions and activities. Overexpression of CRN1 causes growth arrest and redistribution of Arp2 and Crn1p into aberrant actin loops. These defects are suppressed by deletion of the Crn1 coiled coil domain and by arc35-26, an allele of the p35 subunit of the Arp2/3 complex. Further in vivo evidence that coronin regulates the Arp2/3 complex comes from the observation that crn1 and arp2 mutants display an allele-specific synthetic interaction. This work identifies a new form of regulation of the Arp2/3 complex and an important cellular function for coronin.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (19) ◽  
pp. 2346-2357 ◽  
Author(s):  
WeiTing Chen ◽  
Holly A. Ping ◽  
Laura L. Lackner

Mitochondrial transport and anchoring mechanisms work in concert to position mitochondria to meet cellular needs. In yeast, Mmr1 functions as a mitochondrial adaptor for Myo2 to facilitate actin-based transport of mitochondria to the bud. Posttransport, Mmr1 is proposed to anchor mitochondria at the bud tip. Although both functions require an interaction between Mmr1 and mitochondria, the molecular basis of the Mmr1–mitochondria interaction is poorly understood. Our in vitro phospholipid binding assays indicate Mmr1 can directly interact with phospholipid membranes. Through structure–function studies we identified an unpredicted membrane-binding domain composed of amino acids 76–195 that is both necessary and sufficient for Mmr1 to interact with mitochondria in vivo and liposomes in vitro. In addition, our structure–function analyses indicate that the coiled-coil domain of Mmr1 is necessary and sufficient for Mmr1 self-interaction and facilitates the polarized localization of the protein. Disrupting either the Mmr1–membrane interaction or Mmr1 self-interaction leads to defects in mitochondrial inheritance. Therefore, direct membrane binding and self-interaction are necessary for Mmr1 function in mitochondrial inheritance and are utilized as a means to spatially and temporally regulate mitochondrial positioning.


1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1235-1252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owais Saifee ◽  
Liping Wei ◽  
Michael L. Nonet

We describe the molecular cloning and characterization of theunc-64 locus of Caenorhabditis elegans. unc-64 expresses three transcripts, each encoding a molecule with 63–64% identity to human syntaxin 1A, a membrane- anchored protein involved in synaptic vesicle fusion. Interestingly, the alternative forms of syntaxin differ only in their C-terminal hydrophobic membrane anchors. The forms are differentially expressed in neuronal and secretory tissues; genetic evidence suggests that these forms are not functionally equivalent. A complete loss-of-function mutation in unc-64 results in a worm that completes embryogenesis, but arrests development shortly thereafter as a paralyzed L1 larva, presumably as a consequence of neuronal dysfunction. The severity of the neuronal phenotypes of C. elegans syntaxin mutants appears comparable to those ofDrosophila syntaxin mutants. However, nematode syntaxin appears not to be required for embryonic development, for secretion of cuticle from the hypodermis, or for the function of muscle, in contrast to Drosophila syntaxin, which appears to be required in all cells. Less severe viable unc-64 mutants exhibit a variety of behavioral defects and show strong resistance to the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor aldicarb. Extracellular physiological recordings from pharyngeal muscle of hypomorphic mutants show alterations in the kinetics of transmitter release. The lesions in the hypomorphic alleles map to the hydrophobic face of the H3 coiled-coil domain of syntaxin, a domain that in vitro mediates physical interactions with similar coiled-coil domains in SNAP-25 and synaptobrevin. Furthermore, the unc-64 syntaxin mutants exhibit allele-specific genetic interactions with mutants carrying lesions in the coiled-coil domain of synaptobrevin, providing in vivo evidence for the significance of these domains in regulating synaptic vesicle fusion.


2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (8) ◽  
pp. 2046-2054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Qin Cheng ◽  
Zhong-Mei Liu ◽  
Jian Xu ◽  
Tao Zhou ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
...  

Symptom development of a plant viral disease is a result of molecular interactions between the virus and its host plant; thus, the elucidation of specific interactions is a prerequisite to reveal the mechanism of viral pathogenesis. Here, we show that the chloroplast precursor of ferredoxin-5 (Fd V) from maize (Zea mays) interacts with the multifunctional HC-Pro protein of sugar cane mosaic virus (SCMV) in yeast, Nicotiana benthamiana cells and maize protoplasts. Our results demonstrate that the transit peptide rather than the mature protein of Fd V precursor could interact with both N-terminal (residues 1–100) and C-terminal (residues 301–460) fragments, but not the middle part (residues 101–300), of HC-Pro. In addition, SCMV HC-Pro interacted only with Fd V, and not with the other two photosynthetic ferredoxin isoproteins (Fd I and Fd II) from maize plants. SCMV infection significantly downregulated the level of Fd V mRNA in maize plants; however, no obvious changes were observed in levels of Fd I and Fd II mRNA. These results suggest that SCMV HC-Pro interacts specifically with maize Fd V and that this interaction may disturb the post-translational import of Fd V into maize bundle-sheath cell chloroplasts, which could lead to the perturbation of chloroplast structure and function.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 655
Author(s):  
Jieyang Jin ◽  
Shangrui Zhang ◽  
Mingyue Zhao ◽  
Tingting Jing ◽  
Na Zhang ◽  
...  

Terpenoids play vital roles in tea aroma quality and plants defense performance determination, whereas the scenarios of genes to metabolites of terpenes pathway remain uninvestigated in tea plants. Here, we report the use of an integrated approach combining metabolites, target gene transcripts and function analyses to reveal a gene-to-terpene network in tea plants. Forty-one terpenes including 26 monoterpenes, 14 sesquiterpenes and one triterpene were detected and 82 terpenes related genes were identified from five tissues of tea plants. Pearson correlation analysis resulted in genes to metabolites network. One terpene synthases whose expression positively correlated with farnesene were selected and its function was confirmed involved in the biosynthesis of α-farnesene, β-ocimene and β-farnesene, a very important and conserved alarm pheromone in response to aphids by both in vitro enzymatic assay in planta function analysis. In summary, we provided the first reliable gene-to-terpene network for novel genes discovery.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (44) ◽  
pp. 22196-22204
Author(s):  
Ashley L. Arthur ◽  
Livia D. Songster ◽  
Helena Sirkia ◽  
Akash Bhattacharya ◽  
Carlos Kikuti ◽  
...  

Filopodia are actin-filled protrusions employed by cells to interact with their environment. Filopodia formation in Amoebozoa and Metazoa requires the phylogenetically diverse MyTH4-FERM (MF) myosins DdMyo7 and Myo10, respectively. While Myo10 is known to form antiparallel dimers, DdMyo7 lacks a coiled-coil domain in its proximal tail region, raising the question of how such divergent motors perform the same function. Here, it is shown that the DdMyo7 lever arm plays a role in both autoinhibition and function while the proximal tail region can mediate weak dimerization, and is proposed to be working in cooperation with the C-terminal MF domain to promote partner-mediated dimerization. Additionally, a forced dimer of the DdMyo7 motor is found to weakly rescue filopodia formation, further highlighting the importance of the C-terminal MF domain. Thus, weak dimerization activity of the DdMyo7 proximal tail allows for sensitive regulation of myosin activity to prevent inappropriate activation of filopodia formation. The results reveal that the principles of MF myosin-based filopodia formation are conserved via divergent mechanisms for dimerization.


2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 1609-1620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Caracino ◽  
Cheryl Jones ◽  
Mark Compton ◽  
Charles L. Saxe

Scar/WAVE proteins, members of the conserved Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) family, promote actin polymerization by activating the Arp2/3 complex. A number of proteins, including a complex containing Nap1, PIR121, Abi1/2, and HSPC300, interact with Scar/WAVE, though the role of this complex in regulating Scar function remains unclear. Here we identify a short N-terminal region of Dictyostelium Scar that is necessary and sufficient for interaction with HSPC300 and Abi in vitro. Cells expressing Scar lacking this N-terminal region show abnormalities in F-actin distribution, cell morphology, movement, and cytokinesis. This is true even in the presence of wild-type Scar. The data suggest that the first 96 amino acids of Scar are necessary for participation in a large-molecular-weight protein complex, and that this Scar-containing complex is responsible for the proper localization and regulation of Scar. The presence of mis-regulated or unregulated Scar has significant deleterious effects on cells and may explain the need to keep Scar activity tightly controlled in vivo either by assembly in a complex or by rapid degradation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 309 (12) ◽  
pp. H2127-H2136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Naito ◽  
Takehiro Ogata ◽  
Tetsuro Hamaoka ◽  
Naohiko Nakanishi ◽  
Kotaro Miyagawa ◽  
...  

Muscle-restricted coiled-coil protein (MURC), also referred to as cavin-4, is a member of the cavin family that works cooperatively with caveolins in caveola formation and function. Cavins are cytoplasmic proteins with coiled-coil domains and form heteromeric complexes, which are recruited to caveolae in cells expressing caveolins. Among caveolins, caveolin-3 (Cav3) is exclusively expressed in muscle cells, similar to MURC/cavin-4. In the heart, Cav3 overexpression contributes to cardiac protection, and its deficiency leads to progressive cardiomyopathy. Mutations in the MURC/cavin-4 gene have been identified in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. In the present study, we show the role of MURC/cavin-4 as a caveolar component in the heart. In H9c2 cells, MURC/cavin-4 was localized at the plasma membrane, whereas a MURC/cavin-4 mutant lacking the coiled-coil domain (ΔCC) was primarily localized to the cytoplasm. ΔCC bound to Cav3 and impaired membrane localization of Cav3 in cardiomyocytes. Additionally, although ΔCC did not alter Cav3 mRNA expression, ΔCC decreased the Cav3 protein level. MURC/cavin-4 and ΔCC similarly induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy; however, ΔCC showed higher hypertrophy-related fetal gene expression than MURC/cavin-4. ΔCC induced ERK activation in cardiomyocytes. Transgenic mice expressing ΔCC in the heart (ΔCC-Tg mice) showed impaired cardiac function accompanied by cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and marked interstitial fibrosis. Hearts from ΔCC-Tg mice showed a reduction of the Cav3 protein level and activation of ERK. These results suggest that MURC/cavin-4 requires its coiled-coil domain to target the plasma membrane and to stabilize Cav3 at the plasma membrane of cardiomyocytes and that MURC/cavin-4 functions as a crucial caveolar component to regulate cardiac function.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 8335-8343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiyun Cheng ◽  
Jim A. Rogers ◽  
Nancy A. Dunham ◽  
Thomas E. Smithgall

ABSTRACT The cytoplasmic protein-tyrosine kinase Fes has been implicated in cytokine signal transduction, hematopoiesis, and embryonic development. Previous work from our laboratory has shown that active Fes exists as a large oligomeric complex in vitro. However, when Fes is expressed in mammalian cells, its kinase activity is tightly repressed. The Fes unique N-terminal sequence has two regions with strong homology to coiled-coil-forming domains often found in oligomeric proteins. Here we show that disruption or deletion of the first coiled-coil domain upregulates Fes tyrosine kinase and transforming activities in Rat-2 fibroblasts and enhances Fes differentiation-inducing activity in myeloid leukemia cells. Conversely, expression of a Fes truncation mutant consisting only of the unique N-terminal domain interfered with Rat-2 fibroblast transformation by an activated Fes mutant, suggesting that oligomerization is essential for Fes activation in vivo. Coexpression with the Fes N-terminal region did not affect the transforming activity of v-Src in Rat-2 cells, arguing against a nonspecific suppressive effect. Taken together, these findings suggest a model in which Fes activation may involve coiled-coil-mediated interconversion of monomeric and oligomeric forms of the kinase. Mutation of the first coiled-coil domain may activate Fes by disturbing intramolecular coiled-coil interaction, allowing for oligomerization via the second coiled-coil domain. Deletion of the second coiled-coil domain blocks fibroblast transformation by an activated form of c-Fes, consistent with this model. These results provide the first evidence for regulation of a nonreceptor protein-tyrosine kinase by coiled-coil domains.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1491-1508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Beaven ◽  
Nikola S. Dzhindzhev ◽  
Yue Qu ◽  
Ines Hahn ◽  
Federico Dajas-Bailador ◽  
...  

Axons act like cables, electrically wiring the nervous system. Polar bundles of microtubules (MTs) form their backbones and drive their growth. Plus end–tracking proteins (+TIPs) regulate MT growth dynamics and directionality at their plus ends. However, current knowledge about +TIP functions, mostly derived from work in vitro and in nonneuronal cells, may not necessarily apply to the very different context of axonal MTs. For example, the CLIP family of +TIPs are known MT polymerization promoters in nonneuronal cells. However, we show here that neither Drosophila CLIP-190 nor mammalian CLIP-170 is a prominent MT plus end tracker in neurons, which we propose is due to low plus end affinity of the CAP-Gly domain–containing N-terminus and intramolecular inhibition through the C-terminus. Instead, both CLIP-190 and CLIP-170 form F-actin–dependent patches in growth cones, mediated by binding of the coiled-coil domain to myosin-VI. Because our loss-of-function analyses in vivo and in culture failed to reveal axonal roles for CLIP-190, even in double-mutant combinations with four other +TIPs, we propose that CLIP-190 and -170 are not essential axon extension regulators. Our findings demonstrate that +TIP functions known from nonneuronal cells do not necessarily apply to the regulation of the very distinct MT networks in axons.


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