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Rough Deal and Zw10 are required for the metaphase checkpoint in Drosophila

Nature Cell Biology volume 2, pages 939–943 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

The metaphase–anaphase transition during mitosis is carefully regulated in order to assure high-fidelity transmission of genetic information to the daughter cells. A surveillance mechanism known as the metaphase checkpoint (or spindle-assembly checkpoint) monitors the attachment of kinetochores to the spindle microtubules, and inhibits anaphase onset until all chromosomes have achieved a proper bipolar orientation on the spindle. Defects in this checkpoint lead to premature anaphase onset, and consequently to greatly increased rates of aneuploidy. Here we show that the Drosophila kinetochore components Rough deal (Rod) and Zeste-White 10 (Zw10) are required for the proper functioning of the metaphase checkpoint in flies. Drosophila cells lacking either ROD or Zw10 exhibit a phenotype that is similar to that of bub1 mutants — they do not arrest in metaphase in response to spindle damage, but instead separate sister chromatids, degrade cyclin B and exit mitosis. These are the first checkpoint components to be identified that do not have obvious homologues in budding yeast.

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Figure 1: The metaphase-arrest phenotype of asp is suppressed by rod .
Figure 2: Premature cyclin B degradation in colchicine-treated and untreated rod and zw10 mutant neuroblasts.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Lehner for anti-cyclin B antibody, C. Gonzalez for the asp mutant, and M.Goldberg and B. Williams for the bub1 mutant, as well as for their encouragement and advice. We also thank F. Scaerou for helpful discussions, suggestions and encouragement. This work was carried out at the UPR 2420 Centre de Génétique Moléculaire of the CNRS, associated with the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, and was supported in part by grants to R.K. from the CNRS and from the Association Pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (France). R.B. was supported by grants BD/11488/97 and P/BIA/111055/1998 from FCT, Portugal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS, Centre de Génétique Moléculaire , Avenue de la Terrasse, Gif-sur-Yvette , 91198, France

    Renata Basto & Roger E. Karess

  2. Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Centro de Genetica e Biologia Molecular, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, 1600, Lisboa, Portugal

    Renata Basto & Rui Gomes

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  1. Renata Basto
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Correspondence to Roger E. Karess.

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Basto, R., Gomes, R. & Karess, R. Rough Deal and Zw10 are required for the metaphase checkpoint in Drosophila. Nat Cell Biol 2, 939–943 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35046592

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