The S. pombe cdc16 gene is required both for maintenance of p34cdc2 kinase activity and regulation of septum formation: a link between mitosis and cytokinesis?

Cytokinesis in Aspergillus nidulans is controlled by cell size, nuclear positioning and mitosis

The mycelium of Aspergillus nidulans is composed of multinucleate cellular compartments delimited by crosswalls called septa. Septum formation is dependent on mitosis and requires the recruitment of actin to the site of septum formation. Employing a collection of temperature sensitive nuclear distribution (nudA2, nudC3 and nudF7), nuclear division (nimA5, hfaB3), and septation (sepD5, sepG1) mutants, we have investigated the interdependency among nuclear positioning, mitosis, and cell growth in structuring the cellular compartments of A. nidulans. The cellular compartments of nud+ strains were highly uniform with regard to nuclear distribution and averaged 38 microns in length. Incubation of nud mutants at semi-restrictive temperature resulted in aberrant nuclear distribution that appeared to direct the formation of variable-sized cellular compartments, ranging from 5 microns to greater than 81 microns. In germinating spores, the first septum forms at the basal end of the germ tube following the third round of nuclear division. Germlings must undergo mitosis in order to form a septum. Temperature-sensitive mitotic mutants were used to show that a single nuclear division is sufficient to activate septum formation, provided a critical cell size has been attained. In mitotic mutants and wild-type cells, delays in nuclear division resulted in the misplacement of the first septum. These results strongly support the role of mitotic nuclei in determining septal placement, and suggest that cell size control is post-mitotic in A. nidulans.

The spindle-assembly checkpoint: aiming for a perfect mitosis, every time

Checkpoints reduce the frequency of errors in cell division by delaying the progress of the cell cycle until certain processes are complete. The spindle-assembly checkpoint prevents the onset of anaphase until a bipolar spindle is present and all chromosomes are attached to the spindle. Evidence from yeast and mammalian cells suggests that kinetochores are at least one source of the signal that stops the cell cycle. Recent studies in budding yeast have begun to define the signal-transduction pathway involved in the spindle-assembly checkpoint, but details of the endpoint of the pathway, where these signals interact with the cell-cycle machinery, remain to be characterized.

Phylogenesis of fission yeasts. Contradictions surrounding the origin of a century old genus

The phylogenesis of fungi is controversial due to their simple morphology and poor fossilization. Traditional classification supported by morphological studies and physiological traits placed the fission yeasts in one group with ascomycetous yeasts. The rRNA sequence comparisons, however, revealed an enormous evolutionary gap between Saccharomyces and Schizosaccharomyces. As shown in this review, the protein sequences also show a large gap which is almost as large as that separating Schizosaccharomyces from higher animals. Since the two yeasts share features (both cytological and molecular) in common which are also characteristic of ascomycetous fungi, their separation must have taken place later than the sequence differences may suggest. Possible reasons for the paradox are discussed. The sequence data also suggest a slower evolutionary rate in the Schizosaccharomyces lineage than in the Saccharomyces branch. In the fission yeast lineage two ramifications can be supposed. First S. japonicus (Hasegawaea japonica) branched off, then S. octosporus (Octosporomyces octosporus) separated from S. pombe.

Frontier questions about sister chromatid separation in anaphase

Sister chromatid separation in anaphase is an important event in the cell's transmission of genetic information to a descendent. It has been investigated from different aspects: cell cycle regulation, spindle and chromosome dynamics within the three-dimensional cell architecture, transmission fidelity control and cellular signaling. Integrated studies directed toward unified understanding are possible using multidisciplinary methods with model organisms. Ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis, protein dephosphorylation, an unknown function by the TPR repeat proteins, chromosome transport by microtubule-based motors and DNA topological change by DNA topoisomerase II are all necessary for progression from metaphase to anaphase. Chromosome condensation, mitotic kinetochore function and spindle formation require a larger number of proteins, which are prerequisites for successful sister chromatid separation. Factors that help to retain sister chromatid connection after replication and prevent premature separation remain to be determined. Although sister chromatid separation occurs in anaphase, gene functions in other cell cycle stages also ensure the progression of correct chromatid separation.

The control of septum formation and cytokinesis in fission yeast

Our understanding of the control of cytokinesis is limited in comparison with our knowledge of the controls over the initiation of S phase or mitosis. Study of genetically tractable systems such as Schizosaccharomyces pombe are a useful way to address this problem, since mutants defective in regulation of cytokinesis have been identified. Cloning and analysis of the proteins they encode has begun to shed light upon how formation of the division septum is initiated and directed to the correct place in the cell. Some of these mutants may also be implicated in coordinating mitosis and cytokinesis.

Cyclins of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Five cyclin-like genes, cig1, cig2/cyc17, mcs2, puc1 and cdc13, have been discovered in S. pombe to date. It is not yet clear what their functions are or even whether they are all involved with control of the cell cycle. Conflicting data for cig1 and cig2/cyc17 have obscured analysis of their function and cig1 remains largely uncharacterized, although clues to the role of cig2/cyc17 have emerged. There is genetic data available for the more distant cyclin homologue mcs2, which has an essential although as yet unspecified role. Puc1 may be involved in regulation of exit from the cell cycle. The first cyclin to be discovered, and the best understood, is cdc13 which with cdc2 promotes mitosis. Studies of the roles of cdc2 and cdc13 in the overall ordering of the cell cycle suggest that cdc13 and probably other cyclins are key regulators, maintaining the order of S phase and mitosis during the cell cycle.

Fission yeast TPR-family protein nuc2 is required for G1-arrest upon nitrogen starvation and is an inhibitor of septum formation

Fission yeast nuc2+ gene encodes a protein of a tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) family which is conserved throughout evolution. We previously showed that nuc2 is required for exit from the mitotic metaphase. In this study, we present evidence which shows that nuc2 has two additional roles in the cell cycle. We showed that the nuc2 mutant is sterile even at the permissive temperature and septation occurs in the absence of chromosome separation at the restrictive temperature. The nuc2 mutant fails to arrest at the G1 phase upon nitrogen starvation at the permissive temperature which is a prerequisite for conjugation. Upon starvation, however, the nuc2 mutant ceased division normally and induced starvation-dependent gene expression. Therefore, the nuc2 mutant is deficient only for failure to block DNA replication upon starvation. At the lower restrictive temperature, the nuc2 mutant showed a ‘cut’ phenotype where septation and cytokinesis takes place without the completion of mitosis. Ectopic overexpression of the nuc2+ gene caused multiple rounds of S and M phases in the complete absence of septum formation. We propose that nuc2 is a novel cell cycle regulator essential for three events; firstly for exit from mitosis, secondly for DNA replication restraint under nutrient starvation and thirdly for inhibition of septation and cytokinesis until the completion of mitosis.

The genetics of cell cycle checkpoints

Checkpoints help in the prevention of genetic damage by giving cells time to repair damaged structures before proceeding in the cell cycle. Genetic analyses in budding and fission yeast have identified a large number of cell cycle checkpoint genes. Several of these encode proteins related to components of other signal transduction pathways, including protein kinases, lipid kinases, and 14-3-3 proteins. In fission yeast, checkpoints play an important role in keeping cells from entering mitosis before they pass Start.

Checkpoints in the cell cycle of fission yeast

When cell cycle progression in fission yeast is disrupted, checkpoint controls ensure that the normal sequence of cell cycle events is maintained. Activation of a checkpoint relies on monitoring signals that might involve assembly of macromolecular structures essential for specific cell cycle processes. The past year has seen further elucidation of two new checkpoints operating during the cell cycle of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. One involves the product of the rum1 gene and prevents cells from entering mitosis from the pre-Start G1 interval. The second checkpoint operates during the later stages of the cell cycle and is essential for coupling the events of mitosis and cell division.

New horizons for cytokinesis

The mechanism of cytokines is an old problem in cell biology that has received fresh attention recently with a large variety of powerful approaches and experimental systems. Significant advances have been made on the structure of the cortical cytoskeleton, the identification of proteins and genes involved, and the regulatory mechanism. Many surprises have surfaced within the past two years, leading us toward a major revision in our understanding of this important process.

Cell cycle checkpoints

Checkpoints help ensure that cell cycle events occur in the correct order. Studies on mammalian cells identified inhibitors of complexes of cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases as components of cell cycle checkpoints and provide the first glimpse of the molecular pathways that prevent cells with damaged DNA from replicating their DNA. In embryos, the extent to which checkpoints arrest the cell cycle reflects the relative strength of inhibitory checkpoints and the machinery driving the cell cycle forward.

Ethanol-hypersensitive and ethanol-dependent cdc- mutants in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Ethanol-hypersensitive strains (ets mutants), unable to grow on media containing 6% ethanol, were isolated from a sample of mutagenized Schizosaccharomyces pombe wild-type cells. Genetic analysis of these ets strains demonstrated that the ets phenotype is associated with mutations in a large set of genes, including cell division cycle (cdc) genes, largely non-overlapping with the set represented by the temperature conditional method; accordingly, we isolated some ets non-ts cdc- mutants, which may identify novel essential genes required for regulation of the S. pombe cell cycle. Conversely, seven well characterized ts cdc- mutants were tested for their ethanol sensitivity; among them, cdc1-7 and cdc13-117 exhibited a tight ets phenotype. Ethanol sensitivity was also tested in strains bearing different alleles of the cdc2 gene, and we found that some of them were ets, but others were non-ets; thus, ethanol hypersensitivity is an allele-specific phenotype. Based on the single base changes found in each particular allele of the cdc2 gene, it is shown that a single amino acid substitution in the p34cdc2 gene product can produce this ets phenotype, and that ethanol hypersensitivity is probably due to the influence of this alcohol on the secondary and/or tertiary structure of the target protein. Ethanol-dependent (etd) mutants were also identified as mutants that can only be propagated on ethanol-containing media. This novel type of conditional phenotype also covers many unrelated genes. One of these etd mutants, etd1-1, was further characterized because of the lethal cdc- phenotype of the mutant cells under restrictive conditions (absence of ethanol). The isolation of extragenic suppressors of etd1-1, and the complementation cloning of a DNA fragment encompassing the etd1+ wild-type gene (or an extragenic multicopy suppressor) demonstrate that current genetic techniques may be applied to mutants isolated by using ethanol as a selective agent.