A requirement for the Abnormal Spindle protein to organise microtubules of the central spindle for cytokinesis inDrosophila

2002 ◽  
Vol 115 (5) ◽  
pp. 913-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Giovanna Riparbelli ◽  
Giuliano Callaini ◽  
David M. Glover ◽  
Maria do Carmo Avides

Drosophila abnormal spindle (asp) mutants exhibit a mitotic metaphase checkpoint arrest with abnormal spindle poles, which reflects a requirement for Asp for the integrity of microtubule organising centres (MTOCs). In male meiosis, the absence of a strong spindle integrity checkpoint enables asp mutant cells to proceed through anaphase and telophase. However, the central spindle region is not correctly organised and cells frequently fail to complete cytokinesis. This contrasts with meiosis in wild-type males where at late anaphase a dense array of microtubules forms in the central spindle region that has Asp localised at its border. We speculate that Asp is associated with the minus ends of microtubules that have been released from the spindle poles to form the central spindle. A parallel situation arises in female meiosis where Asp not only associates with the minus ends of microtubules at the acentriolar poles but also with the central spindle pole body that forms between the two tandem spindles of meiosis II. Upon fertilisation, Asp is also recruited to the MTOC that nucleates the sperm aster. Asp is required for growth of the microtubules of the sperm aster,which in asp mutants remains diminutive and so prevents migration of the pronuclei.

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (7) ◽  
pp. 2372-2375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Wesp ◽  
Susanne Prinz ◽  
Gerald R. Fink

ABSTRACT During sporulation in diploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae, spindle pole bodies acquire the so-called meiotic plaque, a prerequisite for spore formation. Mpc70p is a component of the meiotic plaque and is thus essential for spore formation. We show here that MPC70/mpc70 heterozygous strains most often produce two spores instead of four and that these spores are always nonsisters. In wild-type strains, Mpc70p localizes to all four spindle pole bodies, whereas in MPC70/mpc70 strains Mpc70p localizes to only two of the four spindle pole bodies, and these are always nonsisters. Our data can be explained by conservative spindle pole body distribution in which the two newly synthesized meiosis II spindle pole bodies of MPC70/mpc70 strains lack Mpc70p.


1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (17) ◽  
pp. 2487-2495 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A. Endow ◽  
D.J. Komma

The meiosis II spindle of Drosophila oocytes is distinctive in structure, consisting of two tandem spindles with anastral distal poles and an aster-associated spindle pole body between the central poles. Assembly of the anastral:astral meiosis II spindle occurs by reorganization of the meiosis I spindle, without breakdown of the meiosis I spindle. The unusual disk- or ring-shaped central spindle pole body forms de novo in the center of the elongated meiosis I spindle, followed by formation of the central spindle poles. gamma-Tubulin transiently localizes to the central spindle pole body, implying that the body acts as a microtubule nucleating center for assembly of the central poles. Localization of gamma-tubulin to the meiosis II spindle is dependent on the microtubule motor protein, Nonclaret disjunctional (Ncd). Absence of Ncd results in loss of gamma-tubulin localization to the spindle and destabilization of microtubules in the central region of the spindle. Assembly of the anastral:astral meiosis II spindle probably involves rapid reassortment of microtubule plus and minus ends in the center of the meiosis I spindle - this can be accounted for by a model that also accounts for the loss of gamma-tubulin localization to the spindle and destabilization of microtubules in the absence of Ncd.


1998 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 751-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Bonaccorsi ◽  
Maria Grazia Giansanti ◽  
Maurizio Gatti

While Drosophila female meiosis is anastral, both meiotic divisions in Drosophila males exhibit prominent asters. We have identified a gene we call asterless (asl) that is required for aster formation during male meiosis. Ultrastructural analysis showed that asl mutants have morphologically normal centrioles. However, immunostaining with antibodies directed either to γ tubulin or centrosomin revealed that these proteins do not accumulate in the centrosomes, as occurs in wild-type. Thus, asl appears to specify a function required for the assembly of centrosomal material around the centrioles. Despite the absence of asters, meiotic cells of asl mutants manage to develop an anastral spindle. Microtubules grow from multiple sites around the chromosomes, and then focus into a peculiar bipolar spindle that mediates chromosome segregation, although in a highly irregular way. Surprisingly, asl spermatocytes eventually form a morphologically normal ana–telophase central spindle that has full ability to stimulate cytokinesis. These findings challenge the classical view on central spindle assembly, arguing for a self-organization of this structure from either preexisting or newly formed microtubules. In addition, these findings strongly suggest that the asters are not required for signaling cytokinesis.


Genetics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 162 (2) ◽  
pp. 567-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan McBratney ◽  
Mark Winey

Abstract Mutation of either the yeast MPS2 or the NDC1 gene leads to identical spindle pole body (SPB) duplication defects: The newly formed SPB is improperly inserted into the nuclear envelope (NE), preventing the cell from forming a bipolar mitotic spindle. We have previously shown that both MPS2 and NDC1 encode integral membrane proteins localized at the SPB. Here we show that CUE1, previously known to have a role in coupling ubiquitin conjugation to ER degradation, is an unusual dosage suppressor of mutations in MPS2 and NDC1. Cue1p has been shown to recruit the soluble ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, Ubc7p, to the cytoplasmic face of the ER membrane where it can ubiquitinate its substrates and target them for degradation by the proteasome. Both mps2-1 and ndc1-1 are also suppressed by disruption of UBC7 or its partner, UBC6. The Mps2-1p mutant protein level is markedly reduced compared to wild-type Mps2p, and deletion of CUE1 restores the level of Mps2-1p to nearly wild-type levels. Our data indicate that Mps2p may be targeted for degradation by the ER quality control pathway.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (23) ◽  
pp. 4486-4502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham J. Buttrick ◽  
John C. Meadows ◽  
Theresa C. Lancaster ◽  
Vincent Vanoosthuyse ◽  
Lindsey A. Shepperd ◽  
...  

Type 1 phosphatase (PP1) antagonizes Aurora B kinase to stabilize kinetochore–microtubule attachments and to silence the spindle checkpoint. We screened for factors that exacerbate the growth defect of Δdis2 cells, which lack one of two catalytic subunits of PP1 in fission yeast, and identified Nsk1, a novel protein required for accurate chromosome segregation. During interphase, Nsk1 resides in the nucleolus but spreads throughout the nucleoplasm as cells enter mitosis. Following dephosphorylation by Clp1 (Cdc14-like) phosphatase and at least one other phosphatase, Nsk1 localizes to the interface between kinetochores and the inner face of the spindle pole body during anaphase. In the absence of Nsk1, some kinetochores become detached from spindle poles during anaphase B. If this occurs late in anaphase B, then the sister chromatids of unclustered kinetochores segregate to the correct daughter cell. These unclustered kinetochores are efficiently captured, retrieved, bioriented, and segregated during the following mitosis, as long as Dis2 is present. However, if kinetochores are detached from a spindle pole early in anaphase B, then these sister chromatids become missegregated. These data suggest Nsk1 ensures accurate chromosome segregation by promoting the tethering of kinetochores to spindle poles during anaphase B.


1997 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Saunders ◽  
David Hornack ◽  
Valerie Lengyel ◽  
Changchun Deng

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae kinesin-related motor Kar3p, though known to be required for karyogamy, plays a poorly defined, nonessential role during vegetative growth. We have found evidence suggesting that Kar3p functions to limit the number and length of cytoplasmic microtubules in a cell cycle–specific manner. Deletion of KAR3 leads to a dramatic increase in cytoplasmic microtubules, a phenotype which is most pronounced from START through the onset of anaphase but less so during late anaphase in synchronized cultures. We have immunolocalized HA-tagged Kar3p to the spindle pole body region, and fittingly, Kar3p was not detected by late anaphase. A microtubule depolymerizing activity may be the major vegetative role for Kar3p. Addition of the microtubule polymerization inhibitors nocodazol or benomyl to the medium or deletion of the nonessential α-tubulin TUB3 gene can mostly correct the abnormal microtubule arrays and other growth defects of kar3 mutants, suggesting that these phenotypes result from excessive microtubule polymerization. Microtubule depolymerization may also be the mechanism by which Kar3p acts in opposition to the anaphase B motors Cin8p and Kip1p. A preanaphase spindle collapse phenotype of cin8 kip1 mutants, previously shown to involve Kar3p, is markedly delayed when microtubule depolymerization is inhibited by the tub2-150 mutation. These results suggest that the Kar3p motor may act to regulate the length and number of microtubules in the preanaphase spindle.


1996 ◽  
Vol 133 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
H A Sundberg ◽  
L Goetsch ◽  
B Byers ◽  
T N Davis

Previously we demonstrated that calmodulin binds to the carboxy terminus of Spc110p, an essential component of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae spindle pole body (SPB), and that this interaction is required for chromosome segregation. Immunoelectron microscopy presented here shows that calmodulin and thus the carboxy terminus of Spc110p localize to the central plaque. We created temperature-sensitive SPC110 mutations by combining PCR mutagenesis with a plasmid shuffle strategy. The temperature-sensitive allele spc110-220 differs from wild type at two sites. The cysteine 911 to arginine mutation resides in the calmodulin-binding site and alone confers a temperature-sensitive phenotype. Calmodulin overproduction suppresses the temperature sensitivity of spc110-220. Furthermore, calmodulin levels at the SPB decrease in the mutant cells at the restrictive temperature. Thus, calmodulin binding to Spc110-220p is defective at the nonpermissive temperature. Synchronized mutant cells incubated at the nonpermissive temperature arrest as large budded cells with a G2 content of DNA and suffer considerable lethality. Immunofluorescent staining demonstrates failure of nuclear DNA segregation and breakage of many spindles. Electron microscopy reveals an aberrant nuclear structure, the intranuclear microtubule organizer (IMO), that differs from a SPB but serves as a center of microtubule organization. The IMO appears during nascent SPB formation and disappears after SPB separation. The IMO contains both the 90-kD and the mutant 110-kD SPB components. Our results suggest that disruption of the calmodulin Spc110p interaction leads to the aberrant assembly of SPB components into the IMO, which in turn perturbs spindle formation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 1519-1532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey N. Molk ◽  
Scott C. Schuyler ◽  
Jenny Y. Liu ◽  
James G. Evans ◽  
E. D. Salmon ◽  
...  

In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae the mitotic spindle must be positioned along the mother-bud axis to activate the mitotic exit network (MEN) in anaphase. To examine MEN proteins during mitotic exit, we imaged the MEN activators Tem1p and Cdc15p and the MEN regulator Bub2p in vivo. Quantitative live cell fluorescence microscopy demonstrated the spindle pole body that segregated into the daughter cell (dSPB) signaled mitotic exit upon penetration into the bud. Activation of mitotic exit was associated with an increased abundance of Tem1p-GFP and the localization of Cdc15p-GFP on the dSPB. In contrast, Bub2p-GFP fluorescence intensity decreased in mid-to-late anaphase on the dSPB. Therefore, MEN protein localization fluctuates to switch from Bub2p inhibition of mitotic exit to Cdc15p activation of mitotic exit. The mechanism that elevates Tem1p-GFP abundance in anaphase is specific to dSPB penetration into the bud and Dhc1p and Lte1p promote Tem1p-GFP localization. Finally, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) measurements revealed Tem1p-GFP is dynamic at the dSPB in late anaphase. These data suggest spindle pole penetration into the bud activates mitotic exit, resulting in Tem1p and Cdc15p persistence at the dSPB to initiate the MEN signal cascade.


2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tennessee J. Yoder ◽  
Mark A. McElwain ◽  
Susan E. Francis ◽  
Joy Bagley ◽  
Eric G.D. Muller ◽  
...  

The spindle pole body (SPB) is the microtubule organizing center in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. An essential task of the SPB is to ensure assembly of the bipolar spindle, which requires a proper balancing of forces on the microtubules and chromosomes. The SPB component Spc110p connects the ends of the spindle microtubules to the core of the SPB. We previously reported the isolation of a mutant allele spc110-226 that causes broken spindles and SPB disintegration 30 min after spindle formation. By live cell imaging of mutant cells with green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Tub1p or Spc97p-GFP, we show that spc110-226 mutant cells have early defects in spindle assembly. Short spindles form but do not advance to the 1.5-μm stage and frequently collapse. Kinetochores are not arranged properly in the mutant cells. In 70% of the cells, no stable biorientation occurs and all kinetochores are associated with only one SPB. Examination of the SPB remnants by electron microscopy tomography and fluorescence microscopy revealed that the Spc110-226p/calmodulin complex is stripped off of the central plaque of the SPB and coalesces to from a nucleating structure in the nucleoplasm. The central plaque components Spc42p and Spc29p remain behind in the nuclear envelope. The delamination is likely due to a perturbed interaction between Spc42p and Spc110-226p as detected by fluorescence resonance energy transfer analysis. We suggest that the force exerted on the SPB by biorientation of the chromosomes pulls the Spc110-226p out of the SPB; removal of force exerted by coherence of the sister chromatids reduced fragmentation fourfold. Removal of the forces exerted by the cytoplasmic microtubules had no effect on fragmentation. Our results provide insights into the relative contributions of the kinetochore and cytoplasmic microtubules to the forces involved in formation of a bipolar spindle.


1993 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Winey ◽  
MA Hoyt ◽  
C Chan ◽  
L Goetsch ◽  
D Botstein ◽  
...  

The spindle pole body (SPB) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae serves as the centrosome in this organism, undergoing duplication early in the cell cycle to generate the two poles of the mitotic spindle. The conditional lethal mutation ndc1-1 has previously been shown to cause asymmetric segregation, wherein all the chromosomes go to one pole of the mitotic spindle (Thomas, J. H., and D. Botstein. 1986. Cell. 44:65-76). Examination by electron microscopy of mutant cells subjected to the nonpermissive temperature reveals a defect in SPB duplication. Although duplication is seen to occur, the nascent SPB fails to undergo insertion into the nuclear envelope. The parental SPB remains functional, organizing a monopolar spindle to which all the chromosomes are presumably attached. Order-of-function experiments reveal that the NDC1 function is required in G1 after alpha-factor arrest but before the arrest caused by cdc34. Molecular analysis shows that the NDC1 gene is essential and that it encodes a 656 amino acid protein (74 kD) with six or seven putative transmembrane domains. This evidence for membrane association is further supported by immunofluorescent localization of the NDC1 product to the vicinity of the nuclear envelope. These findings suggest that the NDC1 protein acts within the nuclear envelope to mediate insertion of the nascent SPB.


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