Mob4 plays a role in spindle focusing in Drosophila S2 cells.

ABSTRACT: The characteristic bipolar shape of the mitotic spindle is produced by the focusing of the minus ends of microtubules at the spindle poles. The focus is maintained by the centrosome, a microtubule-nucleating organelle, as well as by proteins that are capable of focusing kinetochore fibers (K fibers) even in the absence of a centrosome. Here, we have performed a small-scale RNA interference (RNAi) screen of known or suspected pole-related proteins in Drosophila S2 cells. An unexpected outcome of this screen was the finding that one of the four Drosophila Mob proteins (a family of kinase regulators) plays a role in spindle pole organization. Time-lapse microscopy of mitotic cells depleted of Drosophila Mob4 by RNAi revealed that the K fibers splay apart and do not maintain their focus either

SUBMITTER: Trammell MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2851640 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature