Cell division articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cells experiencing extended mitotic arrest often undergo cell death as a result of steadily declining levels of the apoptotic inhibitor MCL1, but the mechanism controlling this process is poorly understood. Here, Haschka et al.show that the BH3-only protein NOXA promotes the degradation of MCL1, enabling BIM-dependent cell death.

    • Manuel D. Haschka
    • , Claudia Soratroi
    •  & Luca L. Fava

  • Article |

    Mammalian female meiosis is error prone, with error rates increasing with age. Here Touati et al. show that the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) protein BubR1, which decreases with age, has multiple roles in meiosis I by controlling SAC, stabilizing the mitotic spindle and timing the onset of anaphase I.

    • Sandra A. Touati
    • , Eulalie Buffin
    •  & Katja Wassmann

  • Article |

    Phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1/2 by insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I receptor tyrosine kinase is essential for IGF signalling. Here, the authors show that monoubiquitination of IRS-2 by the ubiquitin ligase Nedd4 recruits IRS-2 to the cell membrane and increases IRS-2 phosphorylation and IGF signalling.

    • Toshiaki Fukushima
    • , Hidehito Yoshihara
    •  & Shin-Ichiro Takahashi

  • Article |

    The protein kinase Rio1 is known to promote 40S ribosome formation in the cytoplasm. Using budding yeast, the authors here show that Rio1 also acts in the nucleus, downregulates rDNA transcription by Pol I, and activates the processing of its transcripts to ensure rDNA stability and segregation.

    • Maria G. Iacovella
    • , Cristina Golfieri
    •  & Peter De Wulf

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In asymmetrically dividing cells, both spindle-dependent and spindle-independent cleavage furrow positioning pathways are involved in cytokinesis. Here the authors find that Survivin and the mitotic spindle are required to stabilize the position of the cleavage furrow and to complete cytokinesis in Drosophilaneuroblasts.

    • Michaela Roth
    • , Chantal Roubinet
    •  & Clemens Cabernard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The pitcher-shaped leaf of the carnivorous plant Sarracenia purpurea acts as a pitfall trap to capture small animals. Here, Fukushima et al. analyse pitcher leaf development and propose that this unusual shape evolved from ancestral planar leaves through changes in the orientation of cell division.

    • Kenji Fukushima
    • , Hironori Fujita
    •  & Mitsuyasu Hasebe

  • Article |

    During chromosome segregation sister chromatids can be entangled, resulting in anaphase bridges that must be resolved. Here, the authors report that topoisomerase IIβ binding protein 1 recruits topoisomerase IIα to centromere-associated ultra-fine anaphase bridges to enable their efficient resolution.

    • Ronan Broderick
    • , Jadwiga Nieminuszczy
    •  & Wojciech Niedzwiedz

  • Article |

    In many plants, male meiosis involves two rounds of chromosome separation without cell division, resulting in two spindles in a single cell. Here Brownfield et al. show that an organelle band acts as a physical barrier between the spindles to ensure accurate chromosome segregation.

    • Lynette Brownfield
    • , Jun Yi
    •  & Claudia Köhler

  • Article |

    Alignment of chromosomes at the spindle equator involves two kinesin family molecular motors, Kid and CENP-E. Here, Iemura and Tanaka show differential contributions of these motors, whereby Kid promotes partial alignment before end-on microtubule attachment to chromosomes, and CENP-E promotes alignment when microtubules are stabilized.

    • Kenji Iemura
    •  & Kozo Tanaka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Homologous recombination can overcome replication fork inactivation, but this can cause gross chromosomal rearrangements. Here, the authors show that DNA damage and intra-S phase checkpoints are blind to chromosome rearrangement in the first cell cycle, and are only induced in the second cell cycle.

    • Saed Mohebi
    • , Ken’Ichi Mizuno
    •  & Johanne M. Murray

  • Article |

    The spatial orientation of cell divisions is fundamental for tissue architecture and homeostasis but the extracellular cues regulating this process are largely unknown. Here, the authors show that Semaphorin3B released from the floor plate and the nascent choroid plexus controls progenitor division orientation in the developing mouse spinal cord.

    • Elise Arbeille
    • , Florie Reynaud
    •  & Valérie Castellani

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Meiotic maturation of oocytes and early development of mammalian embryos is largely dependent on the translation of mRNAs stored in the oocyte. Here the authors uncover a population of mRNA retained in the oocyte nucleus whose translation is spatially and temporally regulated by the mTOR–eIF4F pathway during meiosis.

    • Andrej Susor
    • , Denisa Jansova
    •  & Michal Kubelka

  • Article |

    Asymmetric spindle positioning in female mouse meiosis depends on the assembly of actin networks. Here, Chaigne et al. show by theoretical modelling and artificial manipulation of the oocyte cortex that a narrow stiffness regime is required to correctly position the spindle during meiosis I in the mouse oocyte.

    • A. Chaigne
    • , C. Campillo
    •  & M. E. Terret

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many cellular processes, including the cell division cycle, require concerted action of protein kinases and phosphatases. Here Lipinszki et al. present a crystal structure of the Drosophilaphosphoprotein phosphatase 4 subunit, Falafel, in complex with the centromeric protein CENP-C, and reveal a new recognition mode for this phosphatase.

    • Zoltan Lipinszki
    • , Stephane Lefevre
    •  & Marcin R. Przewloka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Epithelial cells must position their mitotic spindle correctly to maintain cell–cell adhesion. Here Vitiello et al. show that the tumour suppressor DLC2 and the mitotic kinesin Kif1b coordinate microtubule–actin interactions upstream of mDia3, guiding spindle positioning and mitotic fidelity.

    • Elisa Vitiello
    • , Jorge G. Ferreira
    •  & Karl Matter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA replication is accomplished by the replisome, a multi-protein complex that comprises the sliding clamp. Here, Moolman et al. present quantitative and dynamic measurements of the number of β2-sliding clamps at the single-cell level in live E. colicells to shed light on key aspects of DNA replication.

    • M. Charl Moolman
    • , Sriram Tiruvadi Krishnan
    •  & Nynke H. Dekker

  • Article |

    MinC, MinD and MinE proteins form part of an oscillatory network that ensures bacteria divide precisely at their midpoints. Ghosal et al.show that MinC and MinD can form membrane-binding copolymers, and propose a mechanism by which these copolymers may regulate cytokinetic ring assembly.

    • Debnath Ghosal
    • , Daniel Trambaiolo
    •  & Jan Löwe

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cells are protected from cell division errors by a pathway that detects mitotic catenation. Here, Brownlow et al.show that protein kinase Cε functions in this pathway to drive decatenation, while delaying silencing of the spindle assembly checkpoint to allow time for catenation resolution.

    • Nicola Brownlow
    • , Tanya Pike
    •  & Peter J. Parker

  • Article |

    In budding yeast, septin filaments adopt an hourglass structure at the bud neck that is remodelled into a double ring. Ong et al.reveal in fine detail the dynamic reorganization of septin filaments within these structures through the cell cycle using platinum-replica electron microscopy.

    • Katy Ong
    • , Carsten Wloka
    •  & Erfei Bi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ubiquitin-like modifier SUMO is involved in many aspects of the cell cycle, but its dynamics during mitosis are unknown. Here, Pelisch et al.use C. elegans to show that SUMO accumulates on the metaphase plate and is required for proper chromosome alignment, and deconjugation is required to progress through the cell cycle.

    • Federico Pelisch
    • , Remi Sonneville
    •  & Ronald T. Hay

  • Article |

    The pyruvate kinase type M2 (PKM2) has a well-established role in cancer due to its functions in regulating glucose metabolism, G1-S transition and mitotic checkpoint. Here the authors identified a novel role for PKM2 in regulating cytokinesis in cancer cells through the phosphorylation of the myosin light chain 2 at the contractile ring.

    • Yuhui Jiang
    • , Yugang Wang
    •  & Zhimin Lu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    EzrA regulates the polymerization of FtsZ, a tubulin-like protein and main component of the Z-ring, which drives cell division in bacteria. Here the authors describe the crystal structure of EzrA and demonstrate that it shares structural and functional properties with eukaryotic spectrins.

    • Robert M. Cleverley
    • , Jeffrey R. Barrett
    •  & Richard J. Lewis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mitotic spindle assembly requires strict control of microtubule nucleation by γ-tubulin ring complexes. Olmsted et al. report that the kinesin-like proteins Pkl1 and Cut7 antagonistically regulate nucleation in fission yeast, and show that a Pkl1 peptide blocks spindle assembly in human cancer cells.

    • Zachary T. Olmsted
    • , Andrew G. Colliver
    •  & Janet L. Paluh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Conventionally, meiosis depends on a two-step loss of chromosome cohesion that requires distinction between chromosome arms and sister centromeres. Heckmann et al.show that a plant that lacks a single defined centromere overcomes this problem by inverting the sequence of meiotic segregation events.

    • Stefan Heckmann
    • , Maja Jankowska
    •  & Andreas Houben

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The absence of a defined centromere in organisms with holocentric chromosomes presents particular problems for the control of chromosome segregation during meiosis. Cabral et al.present evidence that two plant species overcome this challenge by inverting the conventional sequence of meiotic divisions.

    • Gabriela Cabral
    • , André Marques
    •  & Peter Schlögelhofer

  • Article |

    The oligomeric Dam1 complex mediates microtubule attachment to kinetochores during mitosis; however, the significance of its oligomeric structure remains unclear. Umbreit et al. show that Dam1 oligomerization is required for microtubules to form attachments that are robust against tension.

    • Neil T. Umbreit
    • , Matthew P. Miller
    •  & Trisha N. Davis

  • Article |

    The transcription factor WT1 can act as either a tumour suppressor or an oncogene by regulating gene expression. Shandilya et al. show that WT1 also directly activates the spindle assembly checkpoint by binding the checkpoint protein MAD2 to delay anaphase and promote chromosomal stability.

    • Jayasha Shandilya
    • , Eneda Toska
    •  & Stefan G. E. Roberts

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Known mechanisms that determine symmetric division-plane positioning during cell division are unlikely to operate effectively over very long distances. Pende et al. show that extraordinarily long Gammaproteobacteria divide symmetrically despite reaching 120 microns in length

    • Nika Pende
    • , Nikolaus Leisch
    •  & Silvia Bulgheresi

  • Article |

    During cell division, a single chromosome that lacks attachment to microtubules is sufficient to delay chromosome segregation. Chen and Liu construct a model demonstrating that the transport of regulators along microtubules may explain the remarkable sensitivity and robustness of this checkpoint.

    • Jing Chen
    •  & Jian Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The human Holliday junction resolvase GEN1 functions during anaphase to eliminate recombination intermediates that block proper chromosome segregation. Here, the authors demonstrate that GEN1 activity is regulated independently of its phosphorylation status and relies on its active exclusion from the nucleus.

    • Ying Wai Chan
    •  & Stephen C. West

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The transcription factor E2F is critical for determining cell proliferation. By monitoring E2F activity in single cells throughout the cell cycle, Dong et al.provide evidence that Myc and G1 cyclin/CDKs regulate different aspects of E2F temporal dynamics, resulting in distinct phenotypic outputs.

    • Peng Dong
    • , Manoj V. Maddali
    •  & Lingchong You

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Myc has been implicated in the development of multiple types of cancer. Here, the authors explore the therapeutic potential and mechanism of action of Myc inhibition in mouse and human models of glioblastoma, an aggressive type of tumour that is often resistant to conventional therapy.

    • Daniela Annibali
    • , Jonathan R. Whitfield
    •  & Laura Soucek

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fertility in polyploid species relies on pairing and recombination occurring only between true homologues rather than the diverged homoeologous chromosomes also present. Here, Martin et al.show that Ph1 stabilises polyploidy in wheat by promoting homologue pairing and preventing crossovers on paired homoeologues during meiosis.

    • Azahara C. Martín
    • , Peter Shaw
    •  & Graham Moore

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