Dual roles of Incenp crucial to the assembly of the acentrosomal metaphase spindle in female meiosis.

ABSTRACT: Spindle formation in female meiosis differs from mitosis in many animals, as it takes place independently of centrosomes, and the molecular requirements of this pathway remain to be understood. Here, we report two crucial roles of Incenp, an essential subunit of the chromosomal passenger complex (the Aurora B complex), in centrosome-independent spindle formation in Drosophila female meiosis. First, the initial assembly of spindle microtubules is drastically delayed in an incenp mutant. This clearly demonstrates, for the first time, a crucial role for Incenp in chromosome-driven spindle microtubule assembly in living oocytes. Additionally, Incenp is necessary to stabilise the equatorial region of the metaphase I spindle, in contrast to mitosis, where the equivalent function becomes prominen

SUBMITTER: Colombie N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2536564 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature