scholarly journals Chromosome loss rate in cells of different ploidy can be explained by spindle self-organization

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Jelenić ◽  
Anna M. Selmecki ◽  
Liedewij Laan ◽  
Nenad Pavin

SummaryThe mitotic spindle segregates chromosomes and minimizes chromosome loss for the specific number of chromosomes present in an organism. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for example, haploid and diploid cells are part of the sexual life cycle and have a thousand times lower rate of chromosome loss than tetraploid cells. Currently it is unclear what constrains the number of chromosomes that can be segregated with high fidelity in an organism. Here we developed a mathematical model to study if different rates of chromosome loss in cells with different ploidy can arise from changes in (1) spindle dynamics and (2) a maximum duration of mitotic arrest, after which cells enter anaphase. Our model reveals how small increases in spindle assembly time can result in exponential differences in rate of chromosomes loss between cells of increasing ploidy and predicts the maximum duration of mitotic arrest.

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1629-1640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riyad N. H. Seervai ◽  
Stephen K. Jones ◽  
Matthew P. Hirakawa ◽  
Allison M. Porman ◽  
Richard J. Bennett

ABSTRACTCandidaspecies exhibit a variety of ploidy states and modes of sexual reproduction. Most species possess the requisite genes for sexual reproduction, recombination, and meiosis, yet only a few have been reported to undergo a complete sexual cycle including mating and sporulation.Candida albicans, the most studiedCandidaspecies and a prevalent human fungal pathogen, completes its sexual cycle via a parasexual process of concerted chromosome loss rather than a conventional meiosis. In this study, we examine ploidy changes inCandida tropicalis, a closely related species toC. albicansthat was recently revealed to undergo sexual mating.C. tropicalisdiploid cells mate to form tetraploid cells, and we show that these can be induced to undergo chromosome loss to regenerate diploid forms by growth on sorbose medium. The diploid products are themselves mating competent, thereby establishing a parasexual cycle in this species for the first time. Extended incubation (>120 generations) ofC. tropicalistetraploid cells under rich culture conditions also resulted in instability of the tetraploid form and a gradual reduction in ploidy back to the diploid state. The fitness levels ofC. tropicalisdiploid and tetraploid cells were compared, and diploid cells exhibited increased fitness relative to tetraploid cellsin vitro, despite diploid and tetraploid cells having similar doubling times. Collectively, these experiments demonstrate distinct pathways by which a parasexual cycle can occur inC. tropicalisand indicate that nonmeiotic mechanisms drive ploidy changes in this prevalent human pathogen.


2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 1077-1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.I. Seoane ◽  
A.M. Güerci ◽  
F.N. Dulout

The induction of aneuploidy by physical and chemical agents using different test systems was evaluated. The effect of X-rays, caffeine, acetaldehyde, ethanol, diethylstilbestrol, propionaldehyde, and chloral hydrate was studied by chromosome counting in Chinese hamster embryonic diploid cells. Aneugenic ability of cadmium chloride, cadmium sulfate, potassium dichromate, chromium chloride, nickel chloride, and nickel sulfate was assessed by means of anaphase-telophase analysis in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Chromosome counting in human fibroblasts (MRC-5 cell line) was employed to evaluate the effect of cacodilic acid, cadmium chloride, cadmium sulfate, and potassium dichromate. Finally, the induction of kinetochore-positive and kinetochore negative micronuclei by cadmium chloride, cadmium sulfate, potassium dichromate, chromium chloride, and nickel chloride was studied using CREST antibodies. When the effect of different agents was determined by chromosome counting, an increase of hypoploid but not of hyperploid cells was observed. Anaphase-telophase analysis showed that metal salts increased the frequency of lagging chromosomes. This finding has been confirmed by the increment of kinetochore-positive micronuclei using CREST antibodies. Therefore, chromosome loss could be considered as the main cause of induced aneuploidy.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikito Owa ◽  
Brian Dynlacht

SummaryCentromere-associated protein-E (CENP-E) is a kinesin motor localizing at kinetochores. Although its mitotic functions have been well studied, it has been challenging to investigate direct consequences of CENP-E removal using conventional methods because CENP-E depletion results in mitotic arrest. In this study, we harnessed an auxin-inducible degron system to achieve acute degradation of CENP-E. We revealed a kinetochore-independent role for CENP-E that removes pericentriolar material 1 (PCM1) from centrosomes in G2 phase. After acute loss of CENP-E, centrosomal Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is sequestered by accumulated PCM1, resulting in aberrant phosphorylation and destabilization of centrosomes, which triggers loss of astral microtubules and oblique cell divisions. Furthermore, we also observed centrosome and cell division defects in cells from a microcephaly patient with mutations in CENPE. Orientation of cell division is deregulated in some microcephalic patients, and our unanticipated findings provide a unifying principle that explains how microcephaly can result from centrosomal defects.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5724-5735
Author(s):  
J Miles ◽  
T Formosa

Potential DNA replication accessory factors from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have previously been identified by their ability to bind to DNA polymerase alpha protein affinity matrices (J. Miles and T. Formosa, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:1276-1280, 1992). We have now used genetic methods to characterize the gene encoding one of these DNA polymerase alpha-binding proteins (POB1) to determine whether it plays a role in DNA replication in vivo. We find that yeast cells lacking POB1 are viable but display a constellation of phenotypes indicating defective DNA metabolism. Populations of cells lacking POB1 accumulate abnormally high numbers of enlarged large-budded cells with a single nucleus at the neck of the bud. The average DNA content in a population of cells lacking POB1 is shifted toward the G2 value. These two phenotypes indicate that while the bulk of DNA replication is completed without POB1, mitosis is delayed. Deleting POB1 also causes elevated levels of both chromosome loss and genetic recombination, enhances the temperature sensitivity of cells with mutant DNA polymerase alpha genes, causes increased sensitivity to UV radiation in cells lacking a functional RAD9 checkpoint gene, and causes an increased probability of death in cells carrying a mutation in the MEC1 checkpoint gene. The sequence of the POB1 gene indicates that it is identical to the CTF4 (CHL15) gene identified previously in screens for mutations that diminish the fidelity of chromosome transmission. These phenotypes are consistent with defective DNA metabolism in cells lacking POB1 and strongly suggest that this DNA polymerase alpha-binding protein plays a role in accurately duplicating the genome in vivo.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2048-2056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Signon ◽  
Anna Malkova ◽  
Maria L. Naylor ◽  
Hannah Klein ◽  
James E. Haber

ABSTRACT Broken chromosomes can be repaired by several homologous recombination mechanisms, including gene conversion and break-induced replication (BIR). In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an HO endonuclease-induced double-strand break (DSB) is normally repaired by gene conversion. Previously, we have shown that in the absence ofRAD52, repair is nearly absent and diploid cells lose the broken chromosome; however, in cells lacking RAD51, gene conversion is absent but cells can repair the DSB by BIR. We now report that gene conversion is also abolished when RAD54, RAD55, and RAD57 are deleted but BIR occurs, as withrad51Δ cells. DSB-induced gene conversion is not significantly affected when RAD50, RAD59, TID1(RDH54), SRS2, or SGS1 is deleted. Various double mutations largely eliminate both gene conversion and BIR, including rad51Δ rad50Δ, rad51Δ rad59Δ, andrad54Δ tid1Δ. These results demonstrate that there is aRAD51- and RAD54-independent BIR pathway that requires RAD59, TID1, RAD50, and presumablyMRE11 and XRS2. The similar genetic requirements for BIR and telomere maintenance in the absence of telomerase also suggest that these two processes proceed by similar mechanisms.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lavinia Ruta ◽  
Ioana Nicolau ◽  
Claudia Popa ◽  
Ileana Farcasanu

Transient potential receptor (TRP) channels are conserved cation channels found in most eukaryotes, known to sense a variety of chemical, thermal or mechanical stimuli. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae TRPY1 is a TRP channel with vacuolar localization involved in the cellular response to hyperosmotic shock and oxidative stress. In this study, we found that S. cerevisiae diploid cells with heterozygous deletion in TRPY1 gene are haploinsufficient when grown in synthetic media deficient in essential metal ions and that this growth defect is alleviated by non-toxic Mn2+ surplus. Using cells expressing the Ca2+-sensitive photoprotein aequorin we found that Mn2+ augmented the Ca2+ flux into the cytosol under oxidative stress, but not under hyperosmotic shock, a trait that was absent in the diploid cells with homozygous deletion of TRPY1 gene. TRPY1 activation under oxidative stress was diminished in cells devoid of Smf1 (the Mn2+-high-affinity plasma membrane transporter) but it was clearly augmented in cells lacking Pmr1 (the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)/Golgi located ATPase responsible for Mn2+ detoxification via excretory pathway). Taken together, these observations lead to the conclusion that increased levels of intracytosolic Mn2+ activate TRPY1 in the response to oxidative stress.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 2448-2457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin L. Barnhart ◽  
Russell K. Dorer ◽  
Andrew W. Murray ◽  
Scott C. Schuyler

Chromosome segregation depends on the spindle checkpoint, which delays anaphase until all chromosomes have bound microtubules and have been placed under tension. The Mad1–Mad2 complex is an essential component of the checkpoint. We studied the consequences of removing one copy of MAD2 in diploid cells of the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Compared to MAD2/MAD2 cells, MAD2/mad2Δ heterozygotes show increased chromosome loss and have different responses to two insults that activate the spindle checkpoint: MAD2/mad2Δ cells respond normally to antimicrotubule drugs but cannot respond to chromosomes that lack tension between sister chromatids. In MAD2/mad2Δ cells with normal sister chromatid cohesion, removing one copy of MAD1 restores the checkpoint and returns chromosome loss to wild-type levels. We conclude that cells need the normal Mad2:Mad1 ratio to respond to chromosomes that are not under tension.


2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 448-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Hanisch ◽  
Anja Wehner ◽  
Erich A. Nigg ◽  
Herman H.W. Silljé

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) has multiple important functions during M-phase progression. In addition to a catalytic domain, Plk1 possesses a phosphopeptide-binding motif, the polo-box domain (PBD), which is required for proper localization. Here, we have explored the importance of correct Plk1 subcellular targeting for its mitotic functions. We either displaced endogenous Plk1 through overexpression of the PBD or introduced the catalytic domain of Plk1, lacking the PBD, into Plk1-depleted cells. Both treatments resulted in remarkably similar phenotypes, which were distinct from the Plk1 depletion phenotype. Cells depleted of Plk1 mostly arrested with monoastral spindles, because of inhibition of centrosome maturation and separation. In contrast, these functions were not impaired in cells with mislocalized Plk1. Instead, these latter cells showed a checkpoint-dependent mitotic arrest characterized by impaired chromosome congression. Thus, whereas chromosome congression requires localized Plk1 activity, other investigated Plk1 functions are less dependent on correct PBD-mediated targeting. This opens the possibility that PBD-directed drugs might be developed to selectively interfere with a subset of Plk1 functions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Caplow

AbstractYeast secrete ATP in response to glucose, a property with previously unknown functional consequence. In this report, we show that extracellular ATP is a signal for growth of surrounding cells. The ATP signaling behavior was uncovered by finding reduced toxicity of an inducible, dominant-lethal form of alpha tubulin (tub1-828) in cells grown at high, compared to low cell density. Reduced cell death at high cell density resulted because the rate of chromosome loss/cell division was lower (18-fold) in a cultures inoculated with a high density (350,000) compared to a low density (5,000) of cells. The sparing effect of growth at high cell density could be replicated by growing together 3440 cells that express tub1-828, with 2.3 E6 cells that do not express the mutant protein. Toxicity was reduced at high cell density apparently because a secreted signal induces growth, so that the mutant protein is rapidly diluted by synthesis of wild-type α-tubulin. Further, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis after DNA staining showed that the rate of the G1-G2 transition was faster with cells at high density. ATP replaced the need for high cell density for resistance to tub1-828, and stimulated the transition from G1 to G2 in cells at low density. Cells lacking the enzyme nucleoside diphosphate kinase did not respond to nucleotide stimulation of growth during expression of mutant tubulin, suggesting that NDP kinase has a regulatory role in growth stimulation. This newly discovered quorum sensing response in yeast, mediated by ATP, indicates that yeast decision-making is not entirely autonomous.


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