Polo-like kinase acts as a molecular timer that safeguards the asymmetric fate of spindle microtubule-organizing centers
- University of Seville, Spain
- Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain
Abstract
The microtubules that form the mitotic spindle originate from microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) located at either pole. After duplication, spindle MTOCs can be differentially inherited during asymmetric cell division in organisms ranging from yeast to humans. Problems with establishing predetermined spindle MTOC inheritance patterns during stem cell division have been associated with accelerated cellular aging and the development of both cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we expand the repertoire of functions Polo-like kinase family members fulfill in regulating pivotal cell cycle processes. We demonstrate that the Plk1 homolog Cdc5 acts as a molecular timer that facilitates the timely and sequential recruitment of two key determinants of spindle MTOCs distribution, i.e., the γ-tubulin complex receptor Spc72 and the protein Kar9, and establishes the fate of these structures, safeguarding their asymmetric inheritance during Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitosis.
Data availability
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. No new datasets were generated or previously published datasets used in our work. Rich media files such as videos, audio clips or animations were also not created for this article. No further relevant additional data file was provided.
Article and author information
Author details
Fernando Monje-Casas
Funding
Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and European Union (BFU2013-43718-P)
- Fernando Monje-Casas
Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and European Union (BFU2016-76642-P)
- Fernando Monje-Casas
Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and European Union (FPI fellowship)
- Laura Matellán
Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and European Union (Juan de la Cierva research contract)
- Javier Manzano-López
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2020, Matellán et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Polo-like kinase acts as a molecular timer that safeguards the asymmetric fate of spindle microtubule-organizing centers
eLife 9:e61488.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61488
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