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© The Rockefeller University Press,
0021-9525/2000//1101 $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 151, Number 5,
, 2000 1101-1112
Original Article |
The Fission Yeast Ran Gtpase Is Required for Microtubule Integrity
The microtubule cytoskeleton plays a pivotal role in cytoplasmic organization, cell division, and the correct transmission of genetic information. In a screen designed to identify fission yeast genes required for chromosome segregation, we identified a strain that carries a point mutation in the SpRan GTPase. Ran is an evolutionarily conserved eukaryotic GTPase that directly participates in nucleocytoplasmic transport and whose loss affects many biological processes. Recently a transport-independent effect of Ran on spindle formation in vitro was demonstrated, but the in vivo relevance of these findings was unclear. Here, we report the characterization of a Schizosaccharomyces pombe Ran GTPase partial loss of function mutant in which nucleocytoplasmic protein transport is normal, but the microtubule cytoskeleton is defective, resulting in chromosome missegregation and abnormal cell shape. These abnormalities are exacerbated by microtubule destabilizing drugs, by loss of the spindle checkpoint protein Mph1p, and by mutations in the spindle pole body component Cut11p, indicating that SpRan influences microtubule integrity. As the SpRan mutant phenotype can be partially suppressed by the presence of extra Mal3p, we suggest that SpRan plays a role in microtubule stability.
Key Words: Ran GTPase microtubules chromosome segregation mitosis fission yeast
© 2000 The Rockefeller University Press
Abbreviations used in this paper: EMM, Edinburgh minimal medium; ORF, open reading frame; MAP, microtubule-associated protein; NLS, nuclear localization signal; SPB, spindle pole body; TBZ, thiabendazole.
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