Continuous polo-like kinase 1 activity regulates diffusion to maintain centrosome self-organization during mitosis.

ABSTRACT: Whether mitotic structures like the centrosome can self-organize from the regulated mobility of their dynamic protein components remains unclear. Here, we combine fluorescence spectroscopy and chemical genetics to study in living cells the diffusion of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), an enzyme critical for centrosome maturation at the onset of mitosis. The cytoplasmic diffusion of a functional EGFP-PLK1 fusion correlates inversely with known changes in its enzymatic activity during the cell cycle. Specific EGFP-PLK1 inhibition using chemical genetics enhances mobility, as do point mutations inactivating the polo-box or kinase domains responsible for substrate recognition and catalysis. Spatial mapping of EGFP-PLK1 diffusion across living cells, using raster image correlation spectroscopy and li

SUBMITTER: Mahen R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3107272 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature