Role of Hec1 in spindle checkpoint signaling and kinetochore recruitment of Mad1/Mad2

The spindle checkpoint delays sister chromatid separation until all chromosomes have undergone bipolar spindle attachment. Checkpoint failure may result in chromosome mis-segregation and may contribute to tumorigenesis. We showed that the human protein Hec1 was required for the recruitment of Mps1 kinase and Mad1/Mad2 complexes to kinetochores. Depletion of Hec1 impaired chromosome congression and caused persistent activation of the spindle checkpoint, indicating that high steady-state levels of Mad1/Mad2 complexes at kinetochores were not essential for checkpoint signaling. Simultaneous depletion of Hec1 and Mad2 caused catastrophic mitotic exit, making Hec1 an attractive target for the selective elimination of spindle checkpoint-deficient cells.     

The centromeric protein Sgo1 is required to sense lack of tension on mitotic chromosomes

Chromosome alignment on the mitotic spindle is monitored by the spindle checkpoint. We identify Sgo1, a protein involved in meiotic chromosome cohesion, as a spindle checkpoint component. Budding yeast cells with mutations in SGO1 respond normally to microtubule depolymerization but not to lack of tension at the kinetochore, and they have difficulty attaching sister chromatids to opposite poles of the spindle. Sgo1 is thus required for sensing tension between sister chromatids during mitosis, and its degradation when they separate may prevent cell cycle arrest and chromosome loss in anaphase, a time when sister chromatids are no longer under tension.     

Requirement of the spindle checkpoint for proper chromosome segregation in budding yeast meiosis

The spindle checkpoint was characterized in meiosis of budding yeast. In the absence of the checkpoint, the frequency of meiosis I missegregation increased with increasing chromosome length, reaching 19% for the longest chromosome. Meiosis I nondisjunction in spindle checkpoint mutants could be prevented by delaying the onset of anaphase. In a recombination-defective mutant (spo11Delta), the checkpoint delays the biochemical events of anaphase I, suggesting that chromosomes that are attached to microtubules but are not under tension can activate the spindle checkpoint. Spindle checkpoint mutants reduce the accuracy of chromosome segregation in meiosis I much more than that in meiosis II, suggesting that checkpoint defects may contribute to Down syndrome.     

Chromosomes can congress to the metaphase plate before biorientation

The stable propagation of genetic material during cell division depends on the congression of chromosomes to the spindle equator before the cell initiates anaphase. It is generally assumed that congression requires that chromosomes are connected to the opposite poles of the bipolar spindle ("bioriented"). In mammalian cells, we found that chromosomes can congress before becoming bioriented. By combining the use of reversible chemical inhibitors, live-cell light microscopy, and correlative electron microscopy, we found that monooriented chromosomes could glide toward the spindle equator alongside kinetochore fibers attached to other already bioriented chromosomes. This congression mechanism depended on the kinetochore-associated, plus end-directed microtubule motor CENP-E (kinesin-7).     

DNA double-strand breaks trigger genome-wide sister-chromatid cohesion through Eco1 (Ctf7)

Faithful chromosome segregation and repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) require cohesin, the protein complex that mediates sister-chromatid cohesion. Cohesion between sister chromatids is thought to be generated only during ongoing DNA replication by an obligate coupling between cohesion establishment factors such as Eco1 (Ctf7) and the replisome. Using budding yeast, we challenge this model by showing that cohesion is generated by an Eco1-dependent but replication-independent mechanism in response to DSBs in G(2)/M. Furthermore, our studies reveal that Eco1 has two functions: a cohesive activity and a conserved acetyltransferase activity, which triggers the generation of cohesion in response to the DSB and the DNA damage checkpoint. Finally, the DSB-induced cohesion is not limited to broken chromosomes but occurs also on unbroken chromosomes, suggesting that the DNA damage checkpoint through Eco1 provides genome-wide protection of chromosome integrity.     

Molecular biology. The mad ways of meiosis

Reproductive cells that are destined to become sperm or egg undergo meiotic division during which the chromosome number is halved. As Sluder and McCollum explain in their Perspective, new findings (Shonn et al.) in yeast show that there is a spindle checkpoint that operates during meiosis to ensure that an equal number of replicated chromosomes arrives at each pole of the cell. One of the components of this meiotic spindle checkpoint turns out to be Mad2, which gives the signal to halt meiosis if it looks like unequal chromosome segregation is taking place.     

Comment on "A centrosome-independent role for gamma-TuRC proteins in the spindle assembly checkpoint"

Müller et al. (Reports, 27 October 2006, p. 654) proposed a role for microtubule nucleation in mitotic checkpoint signaling. However, their observations of spindle defects and mitotic delay after depletion of gamma-tubulin ring complex (gamma-TuRC) components are fully consistent with activation of the established pathway of checkpoint signaling in response to incomplete or unstable interactions between kinetochores of mitotic chromosomes and spindle microtubules.     

Calpain II involvement in mitosis

Mitotic spindle disassembly requires major structural alterations in the associated cytoskeletal proteins and mitosis is known to be associated with Ca2+-sequestering phenomena and calcium transients. To examine the possible involvement of a ubiquitous Ca2+-activated protease, calpain II, in the mitotic process, synchronized PtK1 cells were monitored by immunofluorescence for the relocation of calpain II. The plasma membrane was the predominant location of calpain II in interphase. However, as mitosis progressed, calpain II relocated to (i) an association with mitotic chromosomes, (ii) a perinuclear location in anaphase, and (iii) a mid-body location in telophase. Microinjection of calpain II near the nucleus of a PtK1 cell promoted the onset of metaphase. Injection of calpain II at late metaphase promoted a precocious disassembly of the mitotic spindle and the onset of anaphase. These data suggest that calpain II is involved in mitosis.     

On the mitotic movements of chromosomes

My conclusions, which, I confess, are tentative and based mainly on studies of one kind of cell, the grasshopper neuroblast, may be summarized as follows. The late prophase orientation of the chromosomes is a carry-over from the late telophase orientation. It is apparently maintained by means of the centromeres, which appear to be attached within a limited region of the nucleus throughout telophase, interphase, and prophase. Metaphase orientation of the chromosomes may be explained as the resultant of two forces: a force involving the centromere and spindle, which is responsible for keeping the centromeres in the equatorial plane of the spindle, and a repulsion force involving the noncentromeric portion of the chromosomes, which results in a tendency toward uniform spacing of the chromosomes outside the spindle. Anaphase separation of sister chromatids and their subsequent movement toward the poles of the spindle involves at least four distinct phases: (i) the initial poleward movement of the centromeres, which may be due to intrinsic repulsion or to a force acting between spindle and centromeres that produces an angle of almost 90 degrees between the separated and unseparated portions of the chromatids; (ii) the autonomous separation of the noncentromeric part of the chromosome; (iii) elongation of the spindle, beginning just after the sister chromatids are separated proximally and ending when the longer chromatids are about to lose contact distally; and (iv) the later movement apart of the daughter chromosomes, probably resulting from a pushing force exerted by elongation of the interzonal fibers.     

Structure and organization of the living mitotic spindle of Haemanthus endosperm

New details of mitotic spindle structures in the endosperm of Haemanthus katherinae (Bak) have been demonstrated by differential interference microscopy. Spindle fibers are clearly seen in the living spindle extending from the kinetochores to the polar region. Individual spindle fibers consist of a bundle of smaller filaments which diverge slightly from the kinetochore and intermingle with filaments from other spindle fibers as they approach the polar region. The degree of intermingling increases during metaphase and anaphase. The chromosomes stop moving when the spindle fibers are still 5 to 10microns long; then the fibers disappear. These observations explain some aspects of spindle movements which were difficult to reconcile with earlier concepts of spindle organization.     

细胞松弛素B对牛卵母细胞体外成熟过程中微管、微丝及染色体的影响

细胞松弛素B(Cytochalasin B,CB)是一种抑制微丝聚合的药物,能抑制微丝的组装从而阻止胞质分裂和极体排放,是研究细胞分裂器形成与变化的重要药物。在牛卵母细胞体外成熟培养过程中加入7.5 μg/mL的CB进行处理,分析CB对减数分裂过程中细胞骨架形态、染色体的排列与分离等方面的影响。结果显示,CB处理后卵母细胞第一极体的排放受到了抑制,染色体的排列和分离受到了影响,出现了同源染色体分离不完全或分离不均匀及分离后又聚在一起等异常情况,形成许多二倍体卵母细胞;纺锤体微管的形态发生了变化,出现了两个纺锤体、巨大纺锤体和多极纺锤体等异常结构;微丝的正常分布受到了影响,染色体周围没有或少有微丝分布,皮质下的微丝分布也变得少而不均匀;这说明微丝与微管在减数分裂过程中是协同作用的,CB通过影响微丝的动态变化,改变了纺锤体微管的形态结构,最终抑制了极体的排放。     

小胡杨小孢子发生及微管骨架变化

利用间接免疫荧光结合DAPI(4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole)染色方法,进行了小胡杨小孢子母细胞减数分裂过程中微管骨架变化和染色体行为的研究。结果表明:①小胡杨小孢子发生过程中细胞内微管骨架呈动态变化过程,中期Ⅱ形成平行纺锤体和垂直纺锤体;末期Ⅱ未观察到典型的成膜体结构,同时型胞质分裂由子核间微管系统的相对界面发生,胞质分裂后形成四边形和四面体型四分体。②小胡杨小孢子母细胞减数分裂过程中还存在各种异常细胞学现象,中期Ⅰ和中期Ⅱ存在落后染色体;中期Ⅱ相互平行纺锤体发生联合;中期Ⅱ和后期Ⅱ孢母细胞两个纺锤体间的胞质会出现裂沟;四分体时期存在三分体和二分体等,说明由于远缘杂交而造成小胡杨染色体的异质性,并在减数分裂过程中得到体现。      

RacA,a bacterial protein that anchors chromosomes to the cell poles

Eukaryotic chromosomes are anchored to a spindle apparatus during mitosis, but no such structure is known during chromosome segregation in bacteria. When sister chromosomes are segregated during sporulation in Bacillus subtilis, the replication origin regions migrate to opposite poles of the cell. If and how origin regions are fastened at the poles has not been determined. Here we describe a developmental protein, RacA, that acts as a bridge between the origin region and the cell poles. We propose that RacA assembles into an adhesive patch at a centromere-like element near the origin, causing chromosomes to stick at the poles.     

The structure of sister minichromosome DNA before anaphase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The role of DNA topology in holding sister chromatids together before anaphase was investigated by analyzing the structure of a small circular minichromosome in cell cycle (cdc) mutants of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the majority of cells arrested after S phase but before anaphase, sister minichromosome molecules are not topologically interlocked with each other. The analysis of the ploidy of minichromosomes in cells that are released from arrest demonstrates that the sister molecules are properly segregated when the cell cycle block is removed. Therefore, sister minichromosome molecules need not remain topologically interlocked until anaphase in order to be properly segregated, and topological interlocking of sister DNA molecules apparently is not the primary force holding sister chromatids together.     

Cohesin cleavage by separase required for anaphase and cytokinesis in human cells

Cell division depends on the separation of sister chromatids in anaphase. In yeast, sister separation is initiated by cleavage of cohesin by the protease separase. In vertebrates, most cohesin is removed from chromosome arms by a cleavage-independent mechanism. Only residual amounts of cohesin are cleaved at the onset of anaphase, coinciding with its disappearance from centromeres. We have identified two separase cleavage sites in the human cohesin subunit SCC1 and have conditionally expressed noncleavable SCC1 mutants in human cells. Our results indicate that cohesin cleavage by separase is essential for sister chromatid separation and for the completion of cytokinesis.     

Mitotic recombination within the centromere of a yeast chromosome

Centromeres are the structural elements of eukaryotic chromosomes that hold sister chromatids together and to which spindle tubules connect during cell division. Centromeres have been shown to suppress meiotic recombination in some systems. In this study yeast strains genetically marked within and flanking a centromere, were used to demonstrate that gene conversion (nonreciprocal recombination) tracts in mitosis can enter into and extend through the centromere.     

Resolution of sister telomere association is required for progression through mitosis

Cohesins keep sister chromatids associated from the time of their replication in S phase until the onset of anaphase. In vertebrate cells, two distinct pathways dissociate cohesins, one acts on chromosome arms and the other on centromeres. Here, we describe a third pathway that acts on telomeres. Knockdown of tankyrase 1, a telomeric poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase caused mitotic arrest. Chromosomes aligned normally on the metaphase plate but were unable to segregate. Sister chromatids separated at centromeres and arms but remained associated at telomeres, apparently through proteinaceous bridges. Thus, telomeres may require a unique tankyrase 1-dependent mechanism for sister chromatid resolution before anaphase.     

A centrosome-independent role for gamma-TuRC proteins in the spindle assembly checkpoint

The spindle assembly checkpoint guards the fidelity of chromosome segregation. It requires the close cooperation of cell cycle regulatory proteins and cytoskeletal elements to sense spindle integrity. The role of the centrosome, the organizing center of the microtubule cytoskeleton, in the spindle checkpoint is unclear. We found that the molecular requirements for a functional spindle checkpoint included components of the large gamma-tubulin ring complex (gamma-TuRC). However, their localization at the centrosome and centrosome integrity were not essential for this function. Thus, the spindle checkpoint can be activated at the level of microtubule nucleation.     

Requirement of heterochromatin for cohesion at centromeres

Centromeres are heterochromatic in many organisms, but the mitotic function of this silent chromatin remains unknown. During cell division, newly replicated sister chromatids must cohere until anaphase when Scc1/Rad21-mediated cohesion is destroyed. In metazoans, chromosome arm cohesins dissociate during prophase, leaving centromeres as the only linkage before anaphase. It is not known what distinguishes centromere cohesion from arm cohesion. Fission yeast Swi6 (a Heterochromatin protein 1 counterpart) is a component of silent heterochromatin. Here we show that this heterochromatin is specifically required for cohesion between sister centromeres. Swi6 is required for association of Rad21-cohesin with centromeres but not along chromosome arms and, thus, acts to distinguish centromere from arm cohesion. Therefore, one function of centromeric heterochromatin is to attract cohesin, thereby ensuring sister centromere cohesion and proper chromosome segregation.     

Splitting the chromosome: cutting the ties that bind sister chromatids

In eukaryotic cells, sister DNA molecules remain physically connected from their production at S phase until their separation during anaphase. This cohesion is essential for the separation of sister chromatids to opposite poles of the cell at mitosis. It also permits chromosome segregation to take place long after duplication has been completed. Recent work has identified a multisubunit complex called cohesin that is essential for connecting sisters. Proteolytic cleavage of one of cohesin's subunits may trigger sister separation at the onset of anaphase.