Variation in cytoplasmic microtubule organization and spindle length between the two forms of the dimorphic fungus Candida albicans

1988 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-220
Author(s):  
R. Barton ◽  
K. Gull
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Dimorphic Fungus ◽  
Microtubule Organization ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubule ◽  
Yeast Phase ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubules

Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus capable of growing as a budding yeast and as a filamentous hypha. We have used the technique of immunofluorescence to study the changes in the microtubule cytoskeleton during the cell cycle in both growth forms. This approach has revealed the presence of an extensive system of microtubules, including cytoplasmic microtubules and a rod-like intranuclear spindle. We have provided a complete description of the arrangement of cytoplasmic and spindle microtubules at each phase of the yeast cell cycle. A novel and characteristic feature of the yeast phase of Candida is the presence of an array of short microtubules at the neck of the doublet cell. This neck-associated array (NAA), is apparently organized independently of the main microtubule-organizing centre, the spindle pole bodies, at late anaphase. Analysis of microtubule patterns in the hyphal state reveals that the general arrangements of microtubules are similar to those seen in the yeast phase. These patterns suggest a role for the cytoplasmic microtubules in the nuclear migration that occurs during hyphal growth. A major finding is that the mitotic spindle in hyphae is considerably longer (12–20 microns) than the spindle in yeast cells (7–8 microns). This may reflect the role of the hyphal mitotic spindle not only in nuclear division but also in the positioning of the daughter nuclei at the centres of hyphal compartments.

scholarly journals The distribution of cytoplasmic microtubules throughout the cell cycle of the centric diatom Stephanopyxis turris: their role in nuclear migration and positioning the mitotic spindle during cytokinesis.

1986 ◽  
Vol 102 (5) ◽  
pp. 1688-1698 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Wordeman ◽  
K L McDonald ◽  
W Z Cande
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Nuclear Migration ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Centric Diatom ◽  
Mitotic Spindles ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Microtubule Organizing Center ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubule ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubules

The cell cycle of the marine centric diatom Stephanopyxis turris consists of a series of spatially and temporally well-ordered events. We have used immunofluorescence microscopy to examine the role of cytoplasmic microtubules in these events. At interphase, microtubules radiate out from the microtubule-organizing center, forming a network around the nucleus and extending much of the length and breadth of the cell. As the cell enters mitosis, this network breaks down and a highly ordered mitotic spindle is formed. Peripheral microtubule bundles radiate out from each spindle pole and swing out and away from the central spindle during anaphase. Treatment of synchronized cells with 2.5 X 10(-8) M Nocodazole reversibly inhibited nuclear migration concurrent with the disappearance of the extensive cytoplasmic microtubule arrays associated with migrating nuclei. Microtubule arrays and mitotic spindles that reformed after the drug was washed out appeared normal. In contrast, cells treated with 5.0 X 10(-8) M Nocodazole were not able to complete nuclear migration after the drug was washed out and the mitotic spindles that formed were multipolar. Normal and multipolar spindles that were displaced toward one end of the cell by the drug treatment had no effect on the plane of division during cytokinesis. The cleavage furrow always bisected the cell regardless of the position of the mitotic spindle, resulting in binucleate/anucleate daughter cells. This suggests that in S. turris, unlike animal cells, the location of the plane of division is cortically determined before mitosis.

The role of gamma-tubulin in mitotic spindle formation and cell cycle progression in Aspergillus nidulans

1997 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Martin ◽  
S.A. Osmani ◽  
B.R. Oakley
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubule ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Gamma Tubulin

gamma-Tubulin has been hypothesized to be essential for the nucleation of the assembly of mitotic spindle microtubules, but some recent results suggest that this may not be the case. To clarify the role of gamma-tubulin in microtubule assembly and cell-cycle progression, we have developed a novel variation of the gene disruption/heterokaryon rescue technique of Aspergillus nidulans. We have used temperature-sensitive cell-cycle mutations to synchronize germlings carrying a gamma-tubulin disruption and observe the phenotypes caused by the disruption in the first cell cycle after germination. Our results indicate that gamma-tubulin is absolutely required for the assembly of mitotic spindle microtubules, a finding that supports the hypothesis that gamma-tubulin is involved in spindle microtubule nucleation. In the absence of functional gamma-tubulin, nuclei are blocked with condensed chromosomes for about the length of one cell cycle before chromatin decondenses without nuclear division. Our results indicate that gamma-tubulin is not essential for progression from G1 to G2, for entry into mitosis nor for spindle pole body replication. It is also not required for reactivity of spindle pole bodies with the MPM-2 antibody which recognizes a phosphoepitope important to mitotic spindle formation. Finally, it does not appear to be absolutely required for cytoplasmic microtubule assembly but may play a role in the formation of normal cytoplasmic microtubule arrays.

scholarly journals Mto2p, a Novel Fission Yeast Protein Required for Cytoplasmic Microtubule Organization and Anchoring of the Cytokinetic Actin Ring

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 3052-3063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srinivas Venkatram ◽  
Jennifer L. Jennings ◽  
Andrew Link ◽  
Kathleen L. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Spindle Pole Body ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Microtubule Organization ◽  
Actin Ring ◽  
Medial Region ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubule ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubules

Microtubules regulate diverse cellular processes, including chromosome segregation, nuclear positioning, and cytokinesis. In many organisms, microtubule nucleation requires γ-tubulin and associated proteins present at specific microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs). In fission yeast, interphase cytoplasmic microtubules originate from poorly characterized interphase MTOCs and spindle pole body (SPB), and during late anaphase from the equatorial MTOC (EMTOC). It has been previously shown that Mto1p (Mbo1p/Mod20p) function is important for the organization/nucleation of all cytoplasmic microtubules. Here, we show that Mto2p, a novel protein, interacts with Mto1p and is important for establishing a normal interphase cytoplasmic microtubule array. In addition, mto2Δ cells fail to establish a stable EMTOC and localize γ-tubulin complex members to this medial structure. As predicted from these functions, Mto2p localizes to microtubules, the SPB, and the EMTOC in an Mto1p-dependent manner. mto2Δ cells fail to anchor the cytokinetic actin ring in the medial region of the cell and under conditions that mildly perturb actin structures, these rings unravel in mto2Δ cells. Our results suggest that the Mto2p and the EMTOC are critical for anchoring the cytokinetic actin ring to the medial region of the cell and for proper coordination of mitosis with cytokinesis.

Mitosis in the yeast phase of Agaricostilbum pulcherrimum and its evolutionary significance

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 1392-1406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Frieders ◽  
David J. McLaughlln
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Spindle Pole Body ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Freeze Substitution ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Basidiomycetous Yeasts ◽  
Spindle Pole Bodies ◽  
Yeast Phase

Agaricostilbum pulcherrimum is an anomaly and is difficult to place systematically. It possesses a yeast phase, and as in most basidiomycetous yeasts, mitosis has not been investigated cytoiogically. Yeast cells of A. pulcherrimum were prepared for immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy by a freeze-substitution method. A cladistic analysis of cell cycle characters among A. pulcherrimum and two ascomycetous and two basidiomycetous yeasts, performed with phylogenetic analysis using parsimony, revealed that A. pulcherrimum is basal within these basidiomycetes. Spindle pole bodies are multilayered discs and appear to be intranuclear during early division, similar to meiotic division. Spindle initiation and early elongation occur in the parent, a situation unreported in basidiomycetous yeasts. The site of spindle initiation, the position of the nucleus during division, and the pattern of astral microtubules demonstrate that the mode of nuclear division in A. pulcherrimum is intermediate between those of the investigated ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts. Keywords: basidiomycete, cell cycle, cytoskeleton, immunofluorescence, phylogeny, spindle pole body.

scholarly journals Studies concerning the temporal and genetic control of cell polarity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1991 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Snyder ◽  
S Gehrung ◽  
B D Page
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Polarity ◽  
Spindle Pole Body ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Cell Cycle Distribution ◽  
Restrictive Temperature ◽  
Microtubule Bundle ◽  
Pole Body ◽  
Capture Site

The establishment of cell polarity was examined in the budding yeast, S. cerevisiae. The distribution of a polarized protein, the SPA2 protein, was followed throughout the yeast cell cycle using synchronized cells and cdc mutants. The SPA2 protein localizes to a patch at the presumptive bud site of G1 cells. Later it concentrates at the bud tip in budded cells. At cytokinesis, the SPA2 protein is at the neck between the mother and daughter cells. Analysis of unbudded haploid cells has suggested a series of events that occurs during G1. The SPA2 patch is established very early in G1, while the spindle pole body residues on the distal side of the nucleus. Later, microtubules emanating from the spindle pole body intersect the SPA2 crescent, and the nucleus probably rotates towards the SPA2 patch. By middle G1, most cells contain the SPB on the side of the nucleus proximal to the SPA2 patch, and a long extranuclear microtubule bundle intersects this patch. We suggest that a microtubule capture site exists in the SPA2 staining region that stabilizes the long microtubule bundle; this capture site may be responsible for rotation of the nucleus. Cells containing a polarized distribution of the SPA2 protein also possess a polarized distribution of actin spots in the same region, although the actin staining is much more diffuse. Moreover, cdc4 mutants, which form multiple buds at the restrictive temperature, exhibit simultaneous staining of the SPA2 protein and actin spots in a subset of the bud tips. spa2 mutants contain a polarized distribution of actin spots, and act1-1 and act1-2 mutants often contain a polarized distribution of the SPA2 protein suggesting that the SPA2 protein is not required for localization of the actin spots and the actin spots are not required for localization of the SPA2 protein. cdc24 mutants, which fail to form buds at the restrictive temperature, fail to exhibit polarized localization of the SPA2 protein and actin spots, indicating that the CDC24 protein is directly or indirectly responsible for controlling the polarity of these proteins. Based on the cell cycle distribution of the SPA2 protein, a "cytokinesis tag" model is proposed to explain the mechanism of the non-random positioning of bud sites in haploid yeast cells.

scholarly journals Kinesin-5 Is Dispensable for Bipolar Spindle Formation and Elongation in Candida albicans, but Simultaneous Loss of Kinesin-14 Activity Is Lethal

mSphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irsa Shoukat ◽  
Corey Frazer ◽  
John S. Allingham
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Spindle Assembly ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bipolar Spindle ◽  
Spindle Elongation ◽  
Simultaneous Loss ◽  
Bipolar Spindles

ABSTRACT Mitotic spindles assume a bipolar architecture through the concerted actions of microtubules, motors, and cross-linking proteins. In most eukaryotes, kinesin-5 motors are essential to this process, and cells will fail to form a bipolar spindle without kinesin-5 activity. Remarkably, inactivation of kinesin-14 motors can rescue this kinesin-5 deficiency by reestablishing the balance of antagonistic forces needed to drive spindle pole separation and spindle assembly. We show that the yeast form of the opportunistic fungus Candida albicans assembles bipolar spindles in the absence of its sole kinesin-5, CaKip1, even though this motor exhibits stereotypical cell-cycle-dependent localization patterns within the mitotic spindle. However, cells lacking CaKip1 function have shorter metaphase spindles and longer and more numerous astral microtubules. They also show defective hyphal development. Interestingly, a small population of CaKip1-deficient spindles break apart and reform two bipolar spindles in a single nucleus. These spindles then separate, dividing the nucleus, and then elongate simultaneously in the mother and bud or across the bud neck, resulting in multinucleate cells. These data suggest that kinesin-5-independent mechanisms drive assembly and elongation of the mitotic spindle in C. albicans and that CaKip1 is important for bipolar spindle integrity. We also found that simultaneous loss of kinesin-5 and kinesin-14 (CaKar3Cik1) activity is lethal. This implies a divergence from the antagonistic force paradigm that has been ascribed to these motors, which could be linked to the high mitotic error rate that C. albicans experiences and often exploits as a generator of diversity. IMPORTANCE Candida albicans is one of the most prevalent fungal pathogens of humans and can infect a broad range of niches within its host. This organism frequently acquires resistance to antifungal agents through rapid generation of genetic diversity, with aneuploidy serving as a particularly important adaptive mechanism. This paper describes an investigation of the sole kinesin-5 in C. albicans, which is a major regulator of chromosome segregation. Contrary to other eukaryotes studied thus far, C. albicans does not require kinesin-5 function for bipolar spindle assembly or spindle elongation. Rather, this motor protein associates with the spindle throughout mitosis to maintain spindle integrity. Furthermore, kinesin-5 loss is synthetically lethal with loss of kinesin-14—canonically an opposing force producer to kinesin-5 in spindle assembly and anaphase. These results suggest a significant evolutionary rewiring of microtubule motor functions in the C. albicans mitotic spindle, which may have implications in the genetic instability of this pathogen.

scholarly journals Budding Yeast Bub2 Is Localized at Spindle Pole Bodies and Activates the Mitotic Checkpoint via a Different Pathway from Mad2

1999 ◽  
Vol 145 (5) ◽  
pp. 979-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Fraschini ◽  
Elisa Formenti ◽  
Giovanna Lucchini ◽  
Simonetta Piatti
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Budding Yeast ◽  
Spindle Pole Body ◽  
Mitotic Checkpoint ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Spindle Pole Bodies

The mitotic checkpoint blocks cell cycle progression before anaphase in case of mistakes in the alignment of chromosomes on the mitotic spindle. In budding yeast, the Mad1, 2, 3, and Bub1, 2, 3 proteins mediate this arrest. Vertebrate homologues of Mad1, 2, 3, and Bub1, 3 bind to unattached kinetochores and prevent progression through mitosis by inhibiting Cdc20/APC-mediated proteolysis of anaphase inhibitors, like Pds1 and B-type cyclins. We investigated the role of Bub2 in budding yeast mitotic checkpoint. The following observations indicate that Bub2 and Mad1, 2 probably activate the checkpoint via different pathways: (a) unlike the other Mad and Bub proteins, Bub2 localizes at the spindle pole body (SPB) throughout the cell cycle; (b) the effect of concomitant lack of Mad1 or Mad2 and Bub2 is additive, since nocodazole-treated mad1 bub2 and mad2 bub2 double mutants rereplicate DNA more rapidly and efficiently than either single mutant; (c) cell cycle progression of bub2 cells in the presence of nocodazole requires the Cdc26 APC subunit, which, conversely, is not required for mad2 cells in the same conditions. Altogether, our data suggest that activation of the mitotic checkpoint blocks progression through mitosis by independent and partially redundant mechanisms.

scholarly journals Distinct Dgrip84 Isoforms Correlate with Distinct γ-Tubulins in Drosophila

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 368-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Wiese
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Multiprotein Complex ◽  
Microtubule Organization ◽  
Developmentally Regulated ◽  
Tubulin Genes ◽  
Tubulin Isotype ◽  
Ring Complex ◽  
Cycle Dependent ◽  
Drosophila Embryos

γ-Tubulin is an indispensable component of the animal centrosome and is required for proper microtubule organization. Within the cell, γ-tubulin exists in a multiprotein complex containing between two (some yeasts) and six or more (metazoa) additional highly conserved proteins named gamma ring proteins (Grips) or gamma complex proteins (GCPs). γ-Tubulin containing complexes isolated from Xenopus eggs or Drosophila embryos appear ring-shaped and have therefore been named the γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC). Curiously, many organisms (including humans) have two distinct γ-tubulin genes. In Drosophila, where the two γ-tubulin isotypes have been studied most extensively, the γ-tubulin genes are developmentally regulated: the “maternal” γ-tubulin isotype (named γTub37CD according to its location on the genetic map) is expressed in the ovary and is deposited in the egg, where it is thought to orchestrate the meiotic and early embryonic cleavages. The second γ-tubulin isotype (γTub23C) is ubiquitously expressed and persists in most of the cells of the adult fly. In those rare cases where both γ-tubulins coexist in the same cell, they show distinct subcellular distributions and cell-cycle-dependent changes: γTub37CD mainly localizes to the centrosome, where its levels vary only slightly with the cell cycle. In contrast, the level of γTub23C at the centrosome increases at the beginning of mitosis, and γTub23C also associates with spindle pole microtubules. Here, we show that γTub23C forms discrete complexes that closely resemble the complexes formed by γTub37CD. Surprisingly, however, γTub23C associates with a distinct, longer splice variant of Dgrip84. This may reflect a role for Dgrip84 in regulating the activity and/or the location of the γ-tubulin complexes formed with γTub37CD and γTub23C.

scholarly journals Mitosis in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as revealed by freeze-substitution electron microscopy

1986 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-268
Author(s):  
K. Tanaka ◽  
T. Kanbe
Keyword(s):  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Nuclear Division ◽  
Freeze Substitution ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Nuclear Space ◽  
Spindle Pole Bodies ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubules ◽  
Spindle Microtubules

Nuclear division in Schizosaccharomyces pombe has been studied in transmission electron micrographs of sections of cells fixed by a method of freeze-substitution. We have found cytoplasmic microtubules in the vicinity of the spindle pole bodies and two kinds of microtubules, short discontinuous ones and long, parallel ones in the intranuclear mitotic spindle. For most of the time taken by nuclear division the spindle pole bodies face each other squarely across the nuclear space but early in mitosis they briefly appear twisted out of alignment with each other, thereby imparting a sigmoidal shape to the bundle of spindle microtubules extending between them. This configuration is interpreted as indicating active participation of the spindle in the initial elongation of the dividing nucleus. It is proposed that mitosis is accompanied by the shortening of chromosomal microtubules simultaneously with the elongation of the central pole-to-pole bundle of microtubules of the intranuclear spindle. Daughter nuclei are separated by the sliding apart of interdigitating microtubules of the spindle at telophase. Some of the latter bear dense knobs at their ends.

scholarly journals DOSE RESPONSE EFFECT OF Paracoccidioides brasiliensis IN AN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF ARTHRITIS

2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Alexandre Loth ◽  
Samia Khalil Biazim ◽  
José Henrique Fermino Ferreira dos Santos ◽  
Rosana Puccia ◽  
Rosimeire Costa Brancalhão ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Model ◽  
Dose Response ◽  
Paracoccidioides Brasiliensis ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Knee Joints ◽  
Dimorphic Fungus ◽  
Response Effect ◽  
Systemic Dissemination ◽  
Yeast Phase ◽  
Dose Response Effect

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is caused by the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb) and corresponds to prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin America. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the dose response effect of the fungal yeast phase for the standardization of an experimental model of septic arthritis. The experiments were performed with groups of 14 rats that received doses of 103, 104 or 105 P. brasiliensis (Pb18) cells. The fungi were injected in 50 µL of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) directly into the knee joints of the animals. The following parameters were analyzed in this work: the formation of swelling in knees infused with yeast cells and the radiological and anatomopathological alterations, besides antibody titer by ELISA. After 15 days of infection, signs of inflammation were evident. At 45 days, some features of damage and necrosis were observed in the articular cartilage. The systemic dissemination of the fungus was observed in 11% of the inoculated animals, and it was concluded that the experimental model is able to mimic articular PCM in humans and that the dose of 105 yeast cells can be used as standard in this model.

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