scholarly journals Drosophila Polo Kinase Is Required for Cytokinesis

1998 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
pp. 659-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mar Carmena ◽  
Maria Giovanna Riparbelli ◽  
Gianluca Minestrini ◽  
Álvaro M. Tavares ◽  
Richard Adams ◽  
...  

A number of lines of evidence point to a predominance of cytokinesis defects in spermatogenesis in hypomorphic alleles of the Drosophila polo gene. In the pre-meiotic mitoses, cytokinesis defects result in cysts of primary spermatocytes with reduced numbers of cells that can contain multiple centrosomes. These are connected by a correspondingly reduced number of ring canals, structures formed by the stabilization of the cleavage furrow. The earliest defects during the meiotic divisions are a failure to form the correct mid-zone and mid-body structures at telophase. This is accompanied by a failure to correctly localize the Pavarotti kinesin- like protein that functions in cytokinesis, and of the septin Peanut and of actin to be incorporated into a contractile ring. In spite of these defects, cyclin B is degraded and the cells exit M phase. The resulting spermatids are frequently binuclear or tetranuclear, in which case they develop either two or four axonemes, respectively. A significant proportion of spermatids in which cytokinesis has failed may also show the segregation defects previously ascribed to polo1 mutants. We discuss these findings in respect to conserved functions for the Polo-like kinases in regulating progression through M phase, including the earliest events of cytokinesis.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikash Verma ◽  
Thomas J. Maresca

ABSTRACTCell division in animal cells culminates with the formation of a contractile ring that divides the cytosol through formation of a cleavage furrow. Microtubules (MTs) are essential for furrow positioning, but the molecular nature of MT-derived spatial signals is unresolved. In this study essential cytokinesis regulators (the centralspindlin complex, aurora B kinase (ABK), and polo kinase) were visualized in Drosophila melanogaster (Dm) cells and found localize to and track MT plus-ends during cytokinesis. The RhoA GEF Pebble (Dm ECT2) did not robustly tip-track but became enriched at MT plus-tips rapidly following cortical contact resulting in RhoA activation and enrichment of myosin-regulatory light chain. Abrogation of cytokinesis regulator tip-tracking by EB1 depletion or deletion of a novel EB1-interaction motif (hxxPTxh) in the centralspindlin component RacGAP50C resulted in higher incidences of cytokinesis failure. We propose that EB1-dependent, MT plus-tip-based signaling hubs recruit cortical Dm ECT2 upon contact to locally activate RhoA.


2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 1223-1230 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Liu ◽  
H. Wang ◽  
M.K. Balasubramanian

Cell division in Schizosaccharomyces pombe is achieved through the use of a medially positioned actomyosin ring. A division septum is formed centripetally, concomitant with actomyosin ring constriction. Genetic screens have identified mutations in a number of genes that affect actomyosin ring or septum assembly. These cytokinesis-defective mutants, however, undergo multiple S and M phases and die as elongated cells with multiple nuclei. Recently, we have shown that a mutant allele of the S. pombe drc1(+)/cps1(+) gene, which encodes a 1,3-(beta)-glucan synthase subunit, is defective in cytokinesis but displays a novel phenotype. drc1-191/cps1-191 cells are capable of assembling actomyosin rings and completing mitosis, but are incapable of assembling the division septum, causing them to arrest as binucleate cells with a stable actomyosin ring. Each nucleus in arrested cps1-191 cells is able to undergo S phase but these G(2) nuclei are significantly delayed for entry into the M phase. In this study we have investigated the mechanism that causes cps1-191 to block with two G(2) nuclei. We show that the inability of cps1-191 mutants to proceed through multiple mitotic cycles is not related to a defect in cell growth. Rather, the failure to complete some aspect of cytokinesis may prevent the G(2)/M transition of the two interphase-G(2) nuclei. The G(2)/M transition defect of cps1-191 mutants is suppressed by a mutation in the wee1 gene and also by the dominant cdc2 allele cdc2-1w, but not the cdc2-3w allele. Transient depolymerization of all F-actin structures also allowed a significant proportion of the cps1-191 cells to undergo a second round of mitosis. We conclude that an F-actin and Wee1p dependent checkpoint blocks G(2)/M transition until previous cytokinesis is completed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
S N Martineau ◽  
P R Andreassen ◽  
R L Margolis

The molecular signals that determine the position and timing of the cleavage furrow during mammalian cell cytokinesis are presently unknown. We have studied in detail the effect of dihydrocytochalasin B (DCB), a drug that interferes with actin assembly, on specific late mitotic events in synchronous HeLa cells. When cleavage furrow formation is blocked at 10 microM DCB, cells return to interphase by the criteria of reformation of nuclei with lamin borders, degradation of the cyclin B component of p34cdc2 kinase, and loss of mitosis specific MPM-2 antigens. However, the machinery for cell cleavage is retained for up to one hour into G1 when cleavage cannot proceed. The components retained consist prominently of a "postmitotic" spindle and a telophase disc, a structure templated by the mitotic spindle in anaphase that may determine the position and timing of the cleavage furrow. Upon release from DCB block, G1 cells proceed through a rapid and synchronous cleavage. We conclude that the mitotic spindle is not inevitably destroyed at the end of mitosis, but persists as an integral structure with the telophase disc in the absence of cleavage. We also conclude that cell cleavage can occur in G1, and is therefore an event metabolically independent of mitosis. The retained telophase disc may indeed signal the position of furrow formation, as G1 cleavage occurs only in the position where the retained disc underlies the cell cortex. The protocol we describe should now enable development of a model system for the study of mammalian cell cleavage as a synchronous event independent of mitosis.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofei Ma ◽  
Jan Inge Øvrebø ◽  
Eric M Thompson

AbstractThe active site of the essential, eukaryotic CDK1 kinase is generated by core structural elements, among which the PSTAIRE motif in the critical αC-helix, is universally conserved in metazoans. The CDK2 kinase, sharing the PSTAIRE, arose early in metazoan evolution and permitted subdivision of tasks along the S-M-phase axis. The marine chordate, Oikopleura dioica, is the only metazoan known to possess more than a single CDK1 ortholog, and all of its 5 paralogs show sequence divergences in the PSTAIRE. Through assessing CDK1 gene duplications in the appendicularian lineage, we show that the CDK1 activation loop substrate binding platform, ATP entrance site, hinge region, and main Cyclin binding interface, have all diversified under positive selection. Three of the 5 CDK1 paralogs are required for embryonic divisions and knockdown phenotypes illustrate further subdivision of functions along the S-M-phase axis. In parallel to CDK1 gene duplications, there has also been amplification in the Cyclin B complement. Among these, the CDK1d:Cyclin Ba pairing is required for oogenic meiosis and early embryogenesis and shows evidence of coevolution of an exclusive interaction. In an intriguing twist on the general rule that Cyclin B oscillations on a background of stable CDK1 levels regulate M-phase MPF activity, it is CDK1d protein levels that oscillate, rather than Cyclin Ba levels, to drive rapid, early embryonic cell cycles. Strikingly, the modified PSTAIRE of odCDK1d shows convergence over great evolutionary distance with plant CDKB, and in both O. dioica, and plants, these variants exhibit increased specialization to M-phase.


2020 ◽  
Vol 219 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Chapa-y-Lazo ◽  
Motonari Hamanaka ◽  
Alexander Wray ◽  
Mohan K. Balasubramanian ◽  
Masanori Mishima

Nearly six decades ago, Lewis Wolpert proposed the relaxation of the polar cell cortex by the radial arrays of astral microtubules as a mechanism for cleavage furrow induction. While this mechanism has remained controversial, recent work has provided evidence for polar relaxation by astral microtubules, although its molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, using C. elegans embryos, we show that polar relaxation is achieved through dynein-mediated removal of myosin II from the polar cortexes. Mutants that position centrosomes closer to the polar cortex accelerated furrow induction, whereas suppression of dynein activity delayed furrowing. We show that dynein-mediated removal of myosin II from the polar cortexes triggers a bidirectional cortical flow toward the cell equator, which induces the assembly of the actomyosin contractile ring. These results provide a molecular mechanism for the aster-dependent polar relaxation, which works in parallel with equatorial stimulation to promote robust cytokinesis.


Open Biology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 130081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Takeda ◽  
Iain M. Robinson ◽  
Matthew M. Savoian ◽  
John R. Griffiths ◽  
Anthony D. Whetton ◽  
...  

Cytokinesis is a highly ordered cellular process driven by interactions between central spindle microtubules and the actomyosin contractile ring linked to the dynamic remodelling of the plasma membrane. The mechanisms responsible for reorganizing the plasma membrane at the cell equator and its coupling to the contractile ring in cytokinesis are poorly understood. We report here that Syndapin, a protein containing an F-BAR domain required for membrane curvature, contributes to the remodelling of the plasma membrane around the contractile ring for cytokinesis. Syndapin colocalizes with phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P 2 ) at the cleavage furrow, where it directly interacts with a contractile ring component, Anillin. Accordingly, Anillin is mislocalized during cytokinesis in Syndapin mutants. Elevated or diminished expression of Syndapin leads to cytokinesis defects with abnormal cortical dynamics. The minimal segment of Syndapin, which is able to localize to the cleavage furrow and induce cytokinesis defects, is the F-BAR domain and its immediate C-terminal sequences. Phosphorylation of this region prevents this functional interaction, resulting in reduced ability of Syndapin to bind to and deform membranes. Thus, the dephosphorylated form of Syndapin mediates both remodelling of the plasma membrane and its proper coupling to the cytokinetic machinery.


1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (12) ◽  
pp. 1751-1757 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Abrieu ◽  
T. Brassac ◽  
S. Galas ◽  
D. Fisher ◽  
J.C. Labbe ◽  
...  

We have investigated whether Plx1, a kinase recently shown to phosphorylate cdc25c in vitro, is required for activation of cdc25c at the G2/M-phase transition of the cell cycle in Xenopus. Using immunodepletion or the mere addition of an antibody against the C terminus of Plx1, which suppressed its activation (not its activity) at G2/M, we show that Plx1 activity is required for activation of cyclin B-cdc2 kinase in both interphase egg extracts receiving recombinant cyclin B, and cycling extracts that spontaneously oscillate between interphase and mitosis. Furthermore, a positive feedback loop allows cyclin B-cdc2 kinase to activate Plx1 at the G2/M-phase transition. In contrast, activation of cyclin A-cdc2 kinase does not require Plx1 activity, and cyclin A-cdc2 kinase fails to activate Plx1 and its consequence, cdc25c activation in cycling extracts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 218 (11) ◽  
pp. 3597-3611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisaku Hiraoka ◽  
Enako Hosoda ◽  
Kazuyoshi Chiba ◽  
Takeo Kishimoto

The kinase cyclin B–Cdk1 complex is a master regulator of M-phase in both mitosis and meiosis. At the G2/M transition, cyclin B–Cdk1 activation is initiated by a trigger that reverses the balance of activities between Cdc25 and Wee1/Myt1 and is further accelerated by autoregulatory loops. In somatic cell mitosis, this trigger was recently proposed to be the cyclin A–Cdk1/Plk1 axis. However, in the oocyte meiotic G2/M transition, in which hormonal stimuli induce cyclin B–Cdk1 activation, cyclin A–Cdk1 is nonessential and hence the trigger remains elusive. Here, we show that SGK directly phosphorylates Cdc25 and Myt1 to trigger cyclin B–Cdk1 activation in starfish oocytes. Upon hormonal stimulation of the meiotic G2/M transition, SGK is activated by cooperation between the Gβγ-PI3K pathway and an unidentified pathway downstream of Gβγ, called the atypical Gβγ pathway. These findings identify the trigger in oocyte meiosis and provide insights into the role and activation of SGK.


1991 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 4311-4320 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.C. Luca ◽  
E.K. Shibuya ◽  
C.E. Dohrmann ◽  
J.V. Ruderman
Keyword(s):  
Cyclin A ◽  
Cyclin B ◽  

2019 ◽  
Vol 218 (4) ◽  
pp. 1250-1264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid E. Adriaans ◽  
Angika Basant ◽  
Bas Ponsioen ◽  
Michael Glotzer ◽  
Susanne M.A. Lens

Cytokinesis begins upon anaphase onset. An early step involves local activation of the small GTPase RhoA, which triggers assembly of an actomyosin-based contractile ring at the equatorial cortex. Here, we delineated the contributions of PLK1 and Aurora B to RhoA activation and cytokinesis initiation in human cells. Knock-down of PRC1, which disrupts the spindle midzone, revealed the existence of two pathways that can initiate cleavage furrow ingression. One pathway depends on a well-organized spindle midzone and PLK1, while the other depends on Aurora B activity and centralspindlin at the equatorial cortex and can operate independently of PLK1. We further show that PLK1 inhibition sequesters centralspindlin onto the spindle midzone, making it unavailable for Aurora B at the equatorial cortex. We propose that PLK1 activity promotes the release of centralspindlin from the spindle midzone through inhibition of PRC1, allowing centralspindlin to function as a regulator of spindle midzone formation and as an activator of RhoA at the equatorial cortex.


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