JCB logo
BITPLANE Scientific Software
  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents
Published online
doi:10.1083/jcb.200612011
The Journal of Cell Biology, Vol. 177, No. 2, 231-242
The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525 $30.00
© Zhang et al.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF, 3745K)
Right arrow PPT slides of all figures
Right arrow Supplemental Material index
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new content in the JCB
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, D.
Right arrow Articles by Sharp, D. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Zhang, D.
Right arrow Articles by Sharp, D. J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Article

Three microtubule severing enzymes contribute to the "Pacman-flux" machinery that moves chromosomes



Dong Zhang1, Gregory C. Rogers1,2, Daniel W. Buster1, and David J. Sharp1

1 Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461
2 Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599

Correspondence to David J. Sharp: dsharp{at}aecom.yu.edu

Chromosomes move toward mitotic spindle poles by a Pacman-flux mechanism linked to microtubule depolymerization: chromosomes actively depolymerize attached microtubule plus ends (Pacman) while being reeled in to spindle poles by the continual poleward flow of tubulin subunits driven by minus-end depolymerization (flux). We report that Pacman-flux in Drosophila melanogaster incorporates the activities of three different microtubule severing enzymes, Spastin, Fidgetin, and Katanin. Spastin and Fidgetin are utilized to stimulate microtubule minus-end depolymerization and flux. Both proteins concentrate at centrosomes, where they catalyze the turnover of {gamma}-tubulin, consistent with the hypothesis that they exert their influence by releasing stabilizing {gamma}-tubulin ring complexes from minus ends. In contrast, Katanin appears to function primarily on anaphase chromosomes, where it stimulates microtubule plus-end depolymerization and Pacman-based chromatid motility. Collectively, these findings reveal novel and significant roles for microtubule severing within the spindle and broaden our understanding of the molecular machinery used to move chromosomes.

Abbreviations used in this paper: ds, double-stranded; {gamma}-TuRC, {gamma}-tubulin ring complex; MT, microtubule.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:



  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents