Nature Cell Biology
- 8, 1108 - 1113 (2006)
Published online: 24 September 2006; | doi:10.1038/ncb1480
Self-organization of microtubule bundles in anucleate fission yeast cellsRafael R. Daga1, 2, Kyeng-Gea Lee1, Scott Bratman1, Silvia Salas-Pino1, 2 & Fred Chang11
Microbiology Department, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 701 168th St., New York, NY 10032, USA. 2
Current address: Centro Andaluz de Biologìa del Desarrollo, CSIC/Universidad Pablo de Olavide Carretera de Utrera Km1, Sevilla 41013, Spain.
Correspondence should be addressed to Fred Chang fc99@columbia.edu Self-organization of cellular structures is an emerging principle underlying cellular architecture. Properties of dynamic microtubules and microtubule-binding proteins contribute to the self-assembly of structures such as microtubule asters1,
2. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, longitudinal arrays of cytoplasmic microtubule bundles regulate cell polarity and nuclear positioning3,
4,
5. These bundles are thought to be organized from the nucleus at multiple interphase microtubule organizing centres (iMTOCs)3. Here, we find that microtubule bundles assemble even in cells that lack a nucleus. These bundles have normal organization, dynamics and orientation, and exhibit anti-parallel overlaps in the middle of the cell. The mechanisms that are responsible for formation of these microtubule bundles include cytoplasmic microtubule nucleation, microtubule release from the equatorial MTOC (eMTOC), and the dynamic fusion and splitting of microtubule bundles. Bundle formation and organization are dependent on mto1p ( -TUC associated protein), ase1p (PRC1), klp2p (kinesin-14) and tip1p (CLIP-170). Positioning of nuclear fragments and polarity factors by these microtubules illustrates how self-organization of these bundles contributes to establishing global spatial order.
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
|
