scholarly journals Activation of polarized cell growth by inhibition of cell polarity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Geymonat ◽  
Anatole Chessel ◽  
James Dodgson ◽  
Hannah Punter ◽  
Felix Horns ◽  
...  

AbstractA key feature of cells is the capacity to activate new functional polarized domains contemporaneously to pre-existing ones. How cells accomplish this is not clear. Here, we show that in fission yeast inhibition of cell polarity at pre-existing domains of polarized cell growth is required to activate new growth. This inhibition is mediated by the ERM-related polarity factor Tea3, which antagonizes the activation of the Rho-GTPase Cdc42 by its co-factor Scd2. We demonstrate that Tea3 acts in a phosphorylation-dependent manner controlled by the PAK kinase Shk1 and that, like Scd2, Tea3 is direct substrate of Shk1. Importantly, we show that Tea3 and Scd2 compete for their binding to Shk1, indicating that their biochemical competition for Shk1 underpins their antagonistic roles in controlling polarity. Thus, by preventing pre-existing growth domains from becoming overpowering, Tea3 allows cells to redistribute their polarity-activating machinery to prospective sites and control their timing of activation.

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio A. Rincón ◽  
Miguel Estravís ◽  
Pilar Pérez

Polarized cell growth requires a well-orchestrated number of events, namely selection of growth site, organization of cytoskeleton elements and delivery of new material to the growth region. The small Rho GTPase Cdc42 has emerged as a major organizer of polarized growth through its participation in many of these events. In the present short review, we focus on the regulation of Cdc42 activity and localization as well as how it controls downstream events necessary for polarized cell growth in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Owing to the high level of similarity of the polarity pathways, analogies between fission yeast and other model systems can be useful to decipher how cells can actively define their shape by polarized growth.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 956-966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojia Niu ◽  
Fan Zheng ◽  
Chuanhai Fu

Abstract Spatial regulation of microtubule catastrophe is important for controlling microtubule length and consequently contributes to the proper establishment of cell polarity and cell growth. The +TIP proteins including Tip1/CLIP-170, Klp5/Kinesin-8, and Alp14/XMAP215 reside at microtubule plus ends to regulate microtubule dynamics. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Tip1 and Alp14 serve as microtubule-stabilizing factors, while Klp5 functions oppositely as a catastrophe-promoting factor. Despite that Tip1 has been shown to play a key role in restricting microtubule catastrophe to the cell end, how Tip1 fulfills the role remains to be determined. Employing live-cell microscopy, we showed that the absence of Tip1 impairs the localization of both Klp5 and Alp14 at microtubule plus ends, but the absence of Klp5 prolongs the residence time of Tip1 at microtubule plus ends. We further revealed that Klp5 accumulates behind Tip1 at microtubule plus ends in a Tip1-dependent manner. In addition, artificially tethering Klp5 to microtubule plus ends promotes premature microtubule catastrophe, while tethering Alp14 to microtubule plus ends in the cells lacking Tip1 rescues the phenotype of short microtubules. These findings establish that Tip1 restricts microtubule catastrophe to the cell end likely by spatially restricting the microtubule catastrophe activity of Klp5 and stabilizing Alp14 at microtubule plus ends. Thus, the work demonstrates the orchestration of Tip1, Alp14, and Klp5 in ensuring microtubule catastrophe at the cell end.


2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 4155-4167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie G. Martin ◽  
Sergio A. Rincón ◽  
Roshni Basu ◽  
Pilar Pérez ◽  
Fred Chang

Formins are conserved actin nucleators responsible for the assembly of diverse actin structures. Many formins are controlled through an autoinhibitory mechanism involving the interaction of a C-terminal DAD sequence with an N-terminal DID sequence. Here, we show that the fission yeast formin for3p, which mediates actin cable assembly and polarized cell growth, is regulated by a similar autoinhibitory mechanism in vivo. Multiple sites govern for3p localization to cell tips. The localization and activity of for3p are inhibited by an intramolecular interaction of divergent DAD and DID-like sequences. A for3p DAD mutant expressed at endogenous levels produces more robust actin cables, which appear to have normal organization and dynamics. We identify cdc42p as the primary Rho GTPase involved in actin cable assembly and for3p regulation. Both cdc42p, which binds at the N terminus of for3p, and bud6p, which binds near the C-terminal DAD-like sequence, are needed for for3p localization and full activity, but a mutation in the for3p DAD restores for3p localization and other phenotypes of cdc42 and bud6 mutants. In particular, the for3p DAD mutation suppresses the bipolar growth (NETO) defect of bud6Δ cells. These findings suggest that cdc42p and bud6p activate for3p by relieving autoinhibition.


2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 1872-1881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Deng ◽  
James B. Moseley

Cell cycle progression is coupled to cell growth, but the mechanisms that generate growth-dependent cell cycle progression remain unclear. Fission yeast cells enter into mitosis at a defined size due to the conserved cell cycle kinases Cdr1 and Cdr2, which localize to a set of cortical nodes in the cell middle. Cdr2 is regulated by the cell polarity kinase Pom1, suggesting that interactions between cell polarity proteins and the Cdr1-Cdr2 module might underlie the coordination of cell growth and division. To identify the molecular connections between Cdr1/2 and cell polarity, we performed a comprehensive pairwise yeast two-hybrid screen. From the resulting interaction network, we found that the protein Skb1 interacted with both Cdr1 and the Cdr1 inhibitory target Wee1. Skb1 inhibited mitotic entry through negative regulation of Cdr1 and localized to both the cytoplasm and a novel set of cortical nodes. Skb1 nodes were distinct structures from Cdr1/2 nodes, and artificial targeting of Skb1 to Cdr1/2 nodes delayed entry into mitosis. We propose that the formation of distinct node structures in the cell cortex controls signaling pathways to link cell growth and division.


PLoS Genetics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. e1003004 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Adam Bohnert ◽  
Kathleen L. Gould

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 1500-1512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Zajac ◽  
Xiaoli Sun ◽  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Wei Guo

Polarized exocytosis is important for morphogenesis and cell growth. The exocyst is a multiprotein complex implicated in tethering secretory vesicles at specific sites of the plasma membrane for exocytosis. In the budding yeast, the exocyst is localized to sites of bud emergence or the tips of small daughter cells, where it mediates secretion and cell surface expansion. To understand how exocytosis is spatially controlled, we systematically analyzed the localization of Sec15p, a member of the exocyst complex and downstream effector of the rab protein Sec4p, in various mutants. We found that the polarized localization of Sec15p relies on functional upstream membrane traffic, activated rab protein Sec4p, and its guanine exchange factor Sec2p. The initial targeting of both Sec4p and Sec15p to the bud tip depends on polarized actin cable. However, different recycling mechanisms for rab and Sec15p may account for the different kinetics of polarization for these two proteins. We also found that Sec3p and Sec15p, though both members of the exocyst complex, rely on distinctive targeting mechanisms for their localization. The assembly of the exocyst may integrate various cellular signals to ensure that exocytosis is tightly controlled. Key regulators of cell polarity such as Cdc42p are important for the recruitment of the exocyst to the budding site. Conversely, we found that the proper localization of these cell polarity regulators themselves also requires a functional exocytosis pathway. We further report that Bem1p, a protein essential for the recruitment of signaling molecules for the establishment of cell polarity, interacts with the exocyst complex. We propose that a cyclical regulatory network contributes to the establishment and maintenance of polarized cell growth in yeast.


Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 157 (2) ◽  
pp. 601-610
Author(s):  
J Wendland ◽  
P Philippsen

Abstract Polarized cell growth requires a polarized organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Small GTP-binding proteins of the Rho-family have been shown to be involved in the regulation of actin polarization as well as other processes. Hyphal growth in filamentous fungi represents an ideal model to investigate mechanisms involved in generating cell polarity and establishing polarized cell growth. Since a potential role of Rho-proteins has not been studied so far in filamentous fungi we isolated and characterized the Ashbya gossypii homologs of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC42, CDC24, RHO1, and RHO3 genes. The AgCDC42 and AgCDC24 genes can both complement conditional mutations in the S. cerevisiae CDC42 and CDC24 genes and both proteins are required for the establishment of actin polarization in A. gossypii germ cells. Agrho1 mutants show a cell lysis phenotype. Null mutant strains of Agrho3 show periodic swelling of hyphal tips that is overcome by repolarization and polar hyphal growth in a manner resembling the germination pattern of spores. Thus different Rho-protein modules are required for distinct steps during polarized hyphal growth of A. gossypii.


2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 1904-1917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy A. Mackin ◽  
Tarek J. Sousou ◽  
Scott E. Erdman

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae open reading frame YKR090w encodes a predicted protein displaying similarity in organization to paxillin, a scaffolding protein that organizes signaling and actin cytoskeletal regulating activities in many higher eucaryotic cell types. We found that YKR090w functions in a manner analogous to paxillin as a mediator of polarized cell growth; thus, we have named this gene PXL1 (Paxillin-like protein 1). Analyses of pxl1Δ strains show that PXL1 is required for the selection and maintenance of polarized growth sites during vegetative growth and mating. Genetic analyses of strains lacking both PXL1 and the Rho GAP BEM2 demonstrate that such cells display pronounced growth defects in response to different conditions causing Rho1 pathway activation. PXL1 also displays genetic interactions with the Rho1 effector FKS1. Pxl1p may therefore function as a modulator of Rho-GTPase signaling. A GFP::Pxl1 fusion protein localizes to sites of polarized cell growth. Experiments mapping the localization determinants of Pxl1p demonstrate the existence of localization mechanisms conserved between paxillin and Pxl1p and indicate an evolutionarily ancient and conserved role for LIM domain proteins in acting to modulate cell signaling and cytoskeletal organization during polarized growth.


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