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Microtubules induce self-organization of polarized PAR domains in Caenorhabditis elegans zygotes

Nature Cell Biology volume 13, pages 1361–1367 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

A hallmark of polarized cells is the segregation of the PAR polarity regulators into asymmetric domains at the cell cortex1,2. Antagonistic interactions involving two conserved kinases, atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) and PAR-1, have been implicated in polarity maintenance1,2, but the mechanisms that initiate the formation of asymmetric PAR domains are not understood. Here, we describe one pathway used by the sperm-donated centrosome to polarize the PAR proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans zygotes. Before polarization, cortical aPKC excludes PAR-1 kinase and its binding partner PAR-2 by phosphorylation. During symmetry breaking, microtubules nucleated by the centrosome locally protect PAR-2 from phosphorylation by aPKC, allowing PAR-2 and PAR-1 to access the cortex nearest the centrosome. Cortical PAR-1 phosphorylates PAR-3, causing the PAR-3–aPKC complex to leave the cortex. Our findings illustrate how microtubules, independently of actin dynamics, stimulate the self-organization of PAR proteins by providing local protection against a global barrier imposed by aPKC.

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Figure 1: PAR-2 dynamics at symmetry breaking.
Figure 2: Microtubule binding protects PAR-2 from aPKC phosphorylation and allows PAR-2 to interact with phospholipids in the presence of aPKC.
Figure 3: Microtubule binding is required for PAR-2 to localize to the cortex in the absence of cortical flows.
Figure 4: PAR-2 recruits PAR-1 to the cortex, leading to exclusion of anterior PARs.
Figure 5: Microtubule binding by PAR-2 is required for efficient polarity initiation in wild-type embryos.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (F.M.), the American Cancer Society (PF-08-158-01; E.G.) and the National Institute of Health (R01HD37047; G.S.). G.S. is an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. We thank J. Ahringer, A. Audhya, L. Boyd, A. Desai, P. Gonczy, M. Gotta, R. Green, C. Hoege, K. Kemphues, Y. Nishimura, K. F. O’Connell, K. Oegema, L. S. Rose, A. Sugimoto, C. M. Waterman, H. Zaher and the Caenorhabditis Genetic Center for reagents and expertise.

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  1. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for Cell Dynamics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St., PCTB 706, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA

    Fumio Motegi, Seth Zonies, Yingsong Hao, Adrian A. Cuenca, Erik Griffin & Geraldine Seydoux

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  1. Fumio Motegi
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Contributions

F.M. and G.S. designed the study and wrote the manuscript. S.Z. carried out experiments shown in Fig. 3b and Supplementary Fig. S5b, Y.H. A.A.C. and E.G. carried out experiments shown in Supplementary Fig. S8c,d and F.M. carried out all other experiments.

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Correspondence to Geraldine Seydoux.

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Motegi, F., Zonies, S., Hao, Y. et al. Microtubules induce self-organization of polarized PAR domains in Caenorhabditis elegans zygotes. Nat Cell Biol 13, 1361–1367 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb2354

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