scholarly journals The transition from meiotic to mitotic spindle assembly is gradual during early mammalian development

2012 ◽  
Vol 198 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélien Courtois ◽  
Melina Schuh ◽  
Jan Ellenberg ◽  
Takashi Hiiragi
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Embryo ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Gradual Transition ◽  
Mammalian Development ◽  
Preimplantation Stage ◽  
Unique System ◽  
Mitotic Spindle Assembly ◽  
Early Mammalian Development

The transition from meiosis to mitosis, classically defined by fertilization, is a fundamental process in development. However, its mechanism remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we report a surprising gradual transition from meiosis to mitosis over the first eight divisions of the mouse embryo. The first cleavages still largely share the mechanism of spindle formation with meiosis, during which the spindle is self-assembled from randomly distributed microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs) without centrioles, because of the concerted activity of dynein and kinesin-5. During preimplantation development, the number of cellular MTOCs progressively decreased, the spindle pole gradually became more focused, and spindle length progressively scaled down with cell size. The typical mitotic spindle with centrin-, odf2-, kinesin-12–, and CP110-positive centrosomes was established only in the blastocyst. Overall, the transition from meiosis to mitosis progresses gradually throughout the preimplantation stage in the mouse embryo, thus providing a unique system to study the mechanism of centrosome biogenesis in vivo.

scholarly journals Targeting Alp7/TACC to the spindle pole body is essential for mitotic spindle assembly in fission yeast

FEBS Letters ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 588 (17) ◽  
pp. 2814-2821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngang Heok Tang ◽  
Naoyuki Okada ◽  
Chii Shyang Fong ◽  
Kunio Arai ◽  
Masamitsu Sato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Spindle Pole Body ◽  
Spindle Assembly ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Pole Body ◽  
Mitotic Spindle Assembly

Two domains of p80 katanin regulate microtubule severing and spindle pole targeting by p60 katanin

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (9) ◽  
pp. 1623-1633 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.P. McNally ◽  
O.A. Bazirgan ◽  
F.J. McNally
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Microtubule Binding ◽  
Microtubule Severing ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Wd40 Domain

The assembly and function of the mitotic spindle requires the activity of a number of microtubule-binding proteins. Some microtubule-binding proteins bind microtubules in vitro but do not co-localize with microtubules in interphase cells. Instead these proteins associate with specific subregions of the mitotic spindle. Katanin, a heterodimeric microtubule-severing ATPase, is found localized at mitotic spindle poles. In this paper we demonstrate that human p60 katanin and the C-terminal domain of human p80 katanin both bind microtubules in vitro. Association of these two proteins results in an increased microtubule affinity and increased microtubule-severing activity in vitro. Association of these subunits in transfected HeLa cells increases microtubule disassembly activity and targeting to spindle poles. The N-terminal WD40 domain of p80 katanin acts as a negative regulator of microtubule disassembly activity and is also required for spindle pole localization, possibly through interactions with another spindle-pole protein. These results support a model in which katanin is targeted to spindle poles through a combination of direct microtubule binding by the p60 subunit and through interactions between the WD40 domain and an unknown protein. We propose that both domains of p80 are essential in precisely regulating katanin's activity in vivo.

scholarly journals Kinetochore-driven formation of kinetochore fibers contributes to spindle assembly during animal mitosis

2004 ◽  
Vol 167 (5) ◽  
pp. 831-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helder Maiato ◽  
Conly L. Rieder ◽  
Alexey Khodjakov
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Spindle Assembly ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
S2 Cells ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Drosophila S2 Cells ◽  
Mitotic Spindle Assembly ◽  
Normal Mitosis ◽  
Proper Orientation ◽  
Dependent Mechanism

It is now clear that a centrosome-independent pathway for mitotic spindle assembly exists even in cells that normally possess centrosomes. The question remains, however, whether this pathway only activates when centrosome activity is compromised, or whether it contributes to spindle morphogenesis during a normal mitosis. Here, we show that many of the kinetochore fibers (K-fibers) in centrosomal Drosophila S2 cells are formed by the kinetochores. Initially, kinetochore-formed K-fibers are not oriented toward a spindle pole but, as they grow, their minus ends are captured by astral microtubules (MTs) and transported poleward through a dynein-dependent mechanism. This poleward transport results in chromosome bi-orientation and congression. Furthermore, when individual K-fibers are severed by laser microsurgery, they regrow from the kinetochore outward via MT plus-end polymerization at the kinetochore. Thus, even in the presence of centrosomes, the formation of some K-fibers is initiated by the kinetochores. However, centrosomes facilitate the proper orientation of K-fibers toward spindle poles by integrating them into a common spindle.

scholarly journals The 110-kD spindle pole body component of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a phosphoprotein that is modified in a cell cycle-dependent manner.

1996 ◽  
Vol 132 (5) ◽  
pp. 903-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
D B Friedman ◽  
H A Sundberg ◽  
E Y Huang ◽  
T N Davis
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Spindle Pole Body ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Spindle Formation ◽  
Pole Body ◽  
A Cell ◽  
In Cells

Spc110p (Nuf1p) is an essential component of the yeast microtubule organizing center, or spindle pole body (SPB). Asynchronous wild-type cultures contain two electrophoretically distinct isoforms of Spc110p as detected by Western blot analysis, suggesting that Spc110p is modified in vivo. Both isoforms incorporate 32Pi in vivo, suggesting that Spc110p is post-translationally modified by phosphorylation. The slower-migrating 120-kD Spc110p isoform after incubation is converted to the faster-migrating 112-kD isoform after incubation with protein phosphatase PP2A, and specific PP2A inhibitors block this conversion. Thus, additional phosphorylation of Spc110p at serine and/or threonine residues gives rise to the slower-migrating 120-kD isoform. The 120-kD isoform predominates in cells arrested in mitosis by the addition of nocodazole. However, the 120-kD isoform is not detectable in cells grown to stationary phase (G0) or in cells arrested in G1 by the addition of alpha-factor. Temperature-sensitive cell division cycle (cdc) mutations demonstrate that the presence of the 120-kD isoform correlates with mitotic spindle formation but not with SPB duplication. In a synchronous wild-type population, the additional serine/threonine phosphorylation that gives rise to the 120-kD isoform appears as cells are forming the mitotic spindle and diminishes as cells enter anaphase. None of several sequences similar to the consensus for phosphorylation by the Cdc28p (cdc2p34) kinase is important for these mitosis-specific phosphorylations or for function. Carboxy-terminal Spc110p truncations lacking the calmodulin binding site can support growth and are also phosphorylated in a cell cycle-specific manner. Further truncation of the Spc110p carboxy terminus results in mutant proteins that are unable to support growth and now migrate as single species. Collectively, these results provide the first evidence of a structural component of the SPB that is phosphorylated during spindle formation and dephosphorylated as cells enter anaphase.

Sperm superoxide dismutase is associated with bull fertility

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamilah E. Grant ◽  
Rodrigo V. de Oliveira ◽  
Bettye Sue Hennington ◽  
Aruna Govindaraju ◽  
Andy Perkins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Superoxide Dismutase ◽  
Biological Networks ◽  
Sperm Quality ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Protein Markers ◽  
Mammalian Development ◽  
Sperm Proteins ◽  
Thomson Reuters ◽  
Early Mammalian Development

Decreasing mammalian fertility and sperm quality have created an urgent need to find effective methods to distinguish non-viable from viable fertilising spermatozoa. The aims of the present study were to evaluate expression levels of β-tubulin 2C (TUBB2C), heat shock protein 10 (HSP10), hexokinase 1 (HXK1) and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) in spermatozoa from Holstein bulls with varying fertility using western blotting and to analyse the biological networks of these key sperm proteins using a bioinformatics software (Metacore; Thomson-Reuters, Philadelphia, PA, USA). The rationales behind this study were that the sperm proteins play crucial roles in fertilisation and early embryonic development in mammals and ascertaining the biological networks of the proteins helps us better understand sperm physiology and early mammalian development. The results showed that expression of SOD1 was higher in spermatozoa from high fertility bulls (P < 0.05) and that SOD1 is the best protein to diagnose bulls based on the fertility index (P < 0.05). Using Metacore analysis, we identified an SOD1 network with pathways and linkages with other relevant molecules. We concluded that SOD1 sperm expression is associated with in vivo bull fertility. The findings are important because they illuminate molecular and cellular determinants of sperm viability and the identified protein markers can be used to determine bull fertility.

scholarly journals Microtubule pivoting enables mitotic spindle assembly in S. cerevisiae

2021 ◽  
Vol 220 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly K. Fong ◽  
Trisha N. Davis ◽  
Charles L. Asbury
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Spindle Assembly ◽  
Force Generation ◽  
Initial Contact ◽  
Bipolar Spindle ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Mitotic Spindle Assembly ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Pole Component

To assemble a bipolar spindle, microtubules emanating from two poles must bundle into an antiparallel midzone, where plus end–directed motors generate outward pushing forces to drive pole separation. Midzone cross-linkers and motors display only modest preferences for antiparallel filaments, and duplicated poles are initially tethered together, an arrangement that instead favors parallel interactions. Pivoting of microtubules around spindle poles might help overcome this geometric bias, but the intrinsic pivoting flexibility of the microtubule–pole interface has not been directly measured, nor has its importance during early spindle assembly been tested. By measuring the pivoting of microtubules around isolated yeast spindle poles, we show that pivoting flexibility can be modified by mutating a microtubule-anchoring pole component, Spc110. By engineering mutants with different flexibilities, we establish the importance of pivoting in vivo for timely pole separation. Our results suggest that passive thermal pivoting can bring microtubules from side-by-side poles into initial contact, but active minus end–directed force generation will be needed to achieve antiparallel alignment.

scholarly journals Saccharomyces cerevisiae Duo1p and Dam1p, Novel Proteins Involved in Mitotic Spindle Function

1998 ◽  
Vol 143 (4) ◽  
pp. 1029-1040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Hofmann ◽  
Iain M. Cheeseman ◽  
Bruce L. Goode ◽  
Kent L. McDonald ◽  
Georjana Barnes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Mitotic Checkpoint ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Spindle Pole Bodies ◽  
Intranuclear Microtubules ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Green Fluorescent

In this paper, we describe the identification and characterization of two novel and essential mitotic spindle proteins, Duo1p and Dam1p. Duo1p was isolated because its overexpression caused defects in mitosis and a mitotic arrest. Duo1p was localized by immunofluorescence, by immunoelectron microscopy, and by tagging with green fluorescent protein (GFP), to intranuclear spindle microtubules and spindle pole bodies. Temperature-sensitive duo1 mutants arrest with short spindles. This arrest is dependent on the mitotic checkpoint. Dam1p was identified by two-hybrid analysis as a protein that binds to Duo1p. By expressing a GFP–Dam1p fusion protein in yeast, Dam1p was also shown to be associated with intranuclear spindle microtubules and spindle pole bodies in vivo. As with Duo1p, overproduction of Dam1p caused mitotic defects. Biochemical experiments demonstrated that Dam1p binds directly to microtubules with micromolar affinity. We suggest that Dam1p might localize Duo1p to intranuclear microtubules and spindle pole bodies to provide a previously unrecognized function (or functions) required for mitosis.

scholarly journals Theory of cytoskeletal reorganization during crosslinker-mediated mitotic spindle assembly

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Lamson ◽  
C. J. Edelmaier ◽  
M. A. Glaser ◽  
M. D. Betterton
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dynamic Instability ◽  
Kinetic Monte Carlo ◽  
Spindle Assembly ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Cytoskeletal Reorganization ◽  
Bipolar Spindle ◽  
Mitotic Spindle Assembly

AbstractCells grow, move, and respond to outside stimuli by large-scale cytoskeletal reorganization. A prototypical example of cytoskeletal remodeling is mitotic spindle assembly, during which micro-tubules nucleate, undergo dynamic instability, bundle, and organize into a bipolar spindle. Key mechanisms of this process include regulated filament polymerization, crosslinking, and motor-protein activity. Remarkably, using passive crosslinkers, fission yeast can assemble a bipolar spindle in the absence of motor proteins. We develop a torque-balance model that describes this reorganization due to dynamic microtubule bundles, spindle-pole bodies, the nuclear envelope, and passive crosslinkers to predict spindle-assembly dynamics. We compare these results to those obtained with kinetic Monte Carlo-Brownian dynamics simulations, which include crosslinker-binding kinetics and other stochastic effects. Our results show that rapid crosslinker reorganization to microtubule overlaps facilitates crosslinker-driven spindle assembly, a testable prediction for future experiments. Combining these two modeling techniques, we illustrate a general method for studying cytoskeletal network reorganization.

scholarly journals Cdk1-Cyclin B1-mediated Phosphorylation of Tumor-associated Microtubule-associated Protein/Cytoskeleton-associated Protein 2 in Mitosis

2009 ◽  
Vol 284 (24) ◽  
pp. 16501-16512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyung Uk Hong ◽  
Hyun-Jun Kim ◽  
Hyo-Sil Kim ◽  
Yeon-Sun Seong ◽  
Kyeong-Man Hong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Cyclin B1 ◽  
Mutant Form ◽  
Metaphase Chromosomes ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Mitotic Spindle Assembly ◽  
Bipolar Spindles

During mitosis, establishment of structurally and functionally sound bipolar spindles is necessary for maintaining the fidelity of chromosome segregation. Tumor-associated microtubule-associated protein (TMAP), also known as cytoskeleton-associated protein 2 (CKAP2), is a mitotic spindle-associated protein whose level is frequently up-regulated in various malignancies. Previous reports have suggested that TMAP is a potential regulator of mitotic spindle assembly and dynamics and that it is required for chromosome segregation to occur properly. So far, there have been no reports on how its mitosis-related functions are regulated. Here, we report that TMAP is hyper-phosphorylated at the C terminus specifically during mitosis. At least four different residues (Thr-578, Thr-596, Thr-622, and Ser-627) were responsible for the mitosis-specific phosphorylation of TMAP. Among these, Thr-622 was specifically phosphorylated by Cdk1-cyclin B1 both in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, compared with the wild type, a phosphorylation-deficient mutant form of TMAP, in which Thr-622 had been replaced with an alanine (T622A), induced a significant increase in the frequency of metaphase cells with abnormal bipolar spindles, which often displayed disorganized, asymmetrical, or narrow and elongated morphologies. Formation of these abnormal bipolar spindles subsequently resulted in misalignment of metaphase chromosomes and ultimately caused a delay in the entry into anaphase. Moreover, such defects resulting from the T622A mutation were associated with a decrease in the rate of protein turnover at spindle microtubules. These findings suggest that Cdk1-cyclin B1-mediated phosphorylation of TMAP is important for and contributes to proper regulation of microtubule dynamics and establishment of functional bipolar spindles during mitosis.

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