scholarly journals Cleavage-furrow formation without F-actin in Chlamydomonas

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayuki Onishi ◽  
James G. Umen ◽  
Frederick R. Cross ◽  
John R. Pringle

AbstractIt is widely believed that cleavage-furrow formation during cell division is driven by the contraction of a ring containing F-actin and type-II myosin. However, even in cells that have such rings, they are not always essential for furrow formation. Moreover, many taxonomically diverse eukaryotic cells divide by furrowing but have no type-II myosin, making it unlikely that an actomyosin ring drives furrowing. To explore this issue further, we have used one such organism, the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We found that although F-actin is concentrated in the furrow region, none of the three myosins (of types VIII and XI) is localized there. Moreover, when F-actin was eliminated through a combination of a mutation and a drug, furrows still formed and the cells divided, although somewhat less efficiently than normal. Unexpectedly, division of the large Chlamydomonas chloroplast was delayed in the cells lacking F-actin; as this organelle lies directly in the path of the cleavage furrow, this delay may explain, at least in part, the delay in cell division itself. Earlier studies had shown an association of microtubules with the cleavage furrow, and we used a fluorescently tagged EB1 protein to show that at least the microtubule plus-ends are still associated with the furrows in the absence of F-actin, consistent with the possibility that the microtubules are important for furrow formation. We suggest that the actomyosin ring evolved as one way to improve the efficiency of a core process for furrow formation that was already present in ancestral eukaryotes.

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (31) ◽  
pp. 18511-18520
Author(s):  
Masayuki Onishi ◽  
James G. Umen ◽  
Frederick R. Cross ◽  
John R. Pringle

It is widely believed that cleavage-furrow formation during cytokinesis is driven by the contraction of a ring containing F-actin and type-II myosin. However, even in cells that have such rings, they are not always essential for furrow formation. Moreover, many taxonomically diverse eukaryotic cells divide by furrowing but have no type-II myosin, making it unlikely that an actomyosin ring drives furrowing. To explore this issue further, we have used one such organism, the green algaChlamydomonas reinhardtii. We found that although F-actin is associated with the furrow region, none of the three myosins (of types VIII and XI) is localized there. Moreover, when F-actin was eliminated through a combination of a mutation and a drug, furrows still formed and the cells divided, although somewhat less efficiently than normal. Unexpectedly, division of the largeChlamydomonaschloroplast was delayed in the cells lacking F-actin; as this organelle lies directly in the path of the cleavage furrow, this delay may explain, at least in part, the delay in cytokinesis itself. Earlier studies had shown an association of microtubules with the cleavage furrow, and we used a fluorescently tagged EB1 protein to show that microtubules are still associated with the furrows in the absence of F-actin, consistent with the possibility that the microtubules are important for furrow formation. We suggest that the actomyosin ring evolved as one way to improve the efficiency of a core process for furrow formation that was already present in ancestral eukaryotes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 753-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana M. Alessi Wolken ◽  
Joseph McInnes ◽  
Liza A. Pon

Whereas actomyosin and septin ring organization and function in cytokinesis are thoroughly described, little is known regarding the mechanisms by which the actomyosin ring interacts with septins and associated proteins to coordinate cell division. Here we show that the protein product of YPL158C, Aim44p, undergoes septin-dependent recruitment to the site of cell division. Aim44p colocalizes with Myo1p, the type II myosin of the contractile ring, throughout most of the cell cycle. The Aim44p ring does not contract when the actomyosin ring closes. Instead, it forms a double ring that associates with septin rings on mother and daughter cells after cell separation. Deletion of AIM44 results in defects in contractile ring closure. Aim44p coimmunoprecipitates with Hof1p, a conserved F-BAR protein that binds both septins and type II myosins and promotes contractile ring closure. Deletion of AIM44 results in a delay in Hof1p phosphorylation and altered Hof1p localization. Finally, overexpression of Dbf2p, a kinase that phosphorylates Hof1p and is required for relocalization of Hof1p from septin rings to the contractile ring and for Hof1p-triggered contractile ring closure, rescues the cytokinesis defect observed in aim44∆ cells. Our studies reveal a novel role for Aim44p in regulating contractile ring closure through effects on Hof1p.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 4237-4237
Author(s):  
Alexandre Ste-Marie ◽  
Carl Simard ◽  
Serge Côté

Abstract Prior to the fragmentation of their cytoplasm leading to platelet formation, differentiating megakaryocytes (MKs) increase their ploidy and cellular volume by undergoing repeated rounds of DNA replication without concomitant cell division, a process known as endomitosis. There is now accumulating evidence that endomitotic MKs develop as a result of aberrant regulation of the cleavage furrow formation, the site where dynamic changes in actin, myosin and membrane structure mediate the process of cytokinesis during animal cell division. Here we report that transfection of human megakaryocytic cell lines with vectors expressing a 24mer-peptide (MTPG-24) resulted in remarkable changes in morphology, resulting in cells with the appearance of mature polyploid megakaryocytes. MTPG-24 is derived from a protein involved in regulating actin-based structures and motility which possesses a putative site for PKA phosphorylation. Despite its hydrophilic primary structure, MTPG-24 fused to a fluorescent tag was detected closely associated to the plasma membrane where it accumulated in a punctuate pattern, in addition to co-localizing with a Golgi marker. Interestingly, in each recombinant clone, cells with different ploidy levels developed among normally dividing ones, suggesting that transit from a mitotic cycle to an endomitotic cycle seemed to only occur in cells having completed a given number of cell cycles. These effects were obtained independently of the nature of the tag fused to the peptide (Hemagglutinin, Orange protein, GFP) but were not observed with a control peptide in which the amino acids of MTPG-24 were disposed in an arbitrarily sequence. Because it possibly interferes with some effector molecules required for cleavage furrow membrane assembly in late anaphase, MTPG-24 provides thus a new tool for understanding the molecular basis of endomitosis. Furthermore, since there is a correlation between DNA content and the numbers of platelets released by MK, we are currently testing whether this peptide could be used to increase the ploidy level of CD34+ human cord blood-derived MKs which have a low propensity to become highly polyploid.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Wang ◽  
Ryuichi Nishihama ◽  
Masayuki Onishi ◽  
John R. Pringle

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it is well established that Hof1, Cyk3, and Inn1 contribute to septum formation and cytokinesis. Because hof1∆ and cyk3∆ single mutants have relatively mild defects but hof1∆ cyk3∆ double mutants are nearly dead, it has been hypothesized that these proteins contribute to parallel pathways. However, there is also evidence that they interact physically. In this study, we examined this interaction and its functional significance in detail. Our data indicate that the interaction 1) is mediated by a direct binding of the Hof1 SH3 domain to a proline-rich motif in Cyk3; 2) occurs specifically at the time of cytokinesis but is independent of the (hyper)phosphorylation of both proteins that occurs at about the same time; 3) is dispensable for the normal localization of both proteins; 4) is essential for normal primary-septum formation and a normal rate of cleavage-furrow ingression; and 5) becomes critical for growth when either Inn1 or the type II myosin Myo1 (a key component of the contractile actomyosin ring) is absent. The similarity in phenotype between cyk3∆ mutants and mutants specifically lacking the Hof1–Cyk3 interaction suggests that the interaction is particularly important for Cyk3 function, but it may be important for Hof1 function as well.


2011 ◽  
Vol 193 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Telsa M. Mittelmeier ◽  
Joseph S. Boyd ◽  
Mary Rose Lamb ◽  
Carol L. Dieckmann

The eyespot of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a photoreceptive organelle required for phototaxis. Relative to the anterior flagella, the eyespot is asymmetrically positioned adjacent to the daughter four-membered rootlet (D4), a unique bundle of acetylated microtubules extending from the daughter basal body toward the posterior of the cell. Here, we detail the relationship between the rhodopsin eyespot photoreceptor Channelrhodopsin 1 (ChR1) and acetylated microtubules. In wild-type cells, ChR1 was observed in an equatorial patch adjacent to D4 near the end of the acetylated microtubules and along the D4 rootlet. In cells with cytoskeletal protein mutations, supernumerary ChR1 patches remained adjacent to acetylated microtubules. In mlt1 (multieyed) mutant cells, supernumerary photoreceptor patches were not restricted to the D4 rootlet, and more anterior eyespots correlated with shorter acetylated microtubule rootlets. The data suggest a model in which photoreceptor localization is dependent on microtubule-based trafficking selective for the D4 rootlet, which is perturbed in mlt1 mutant cells.


Genetics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
pp. 945-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
L L Ehler ◽  
J A Holmes ◽  
S K Dutcher

Abstract The bld2-1 mutation in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is the only known mutation that results in the loss of centrioles/basal bodies and the loss of coordination between spindle position and cleavage furrow position during cell division. Based on several different assays, bld2-1 cells lack basal bodies in > 99% of cells. The stereotypical cytoskeletal morphology and precise positioning of the cleavage furrow observed in wild-type cells is disrupted in bld2-1 cells. The positions of the mitotic spindle and of the cleavage furrow are not correlated with respect to each other or with a specific cellular landmark during cell division in bld2-1 cells. Actin has a variable distribution during mitosis in bld2-1 cells, but this aberrant distribution is not correlated with the spindle positioning defect. In both wild-type and bld2-1 cells, the position of the cleavage furrow is coincident with a specialized set of microtubules found in green algae known as the rootlet microtubules. We propose that the rootlet microtubules perform the functions of astral microtubules and that functional centrioles are necessary for the organization of the cytoskeletal superstructure critical for correct spindle and cleavage furrow placement in Chlamydomonas.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document