Functional integrity of the contractile actin cortex is safeguarded by multiple Diaphanous-related formins.

ABSTRACT: The contractile actin cortex is a thin layer of filamentous actin, myosin motors, and regulatory proteins beneath the plasma membrane crucial to cytokinesis, morphogenesis, and cell migration. However, the factors regulating actin assembly in this compartment are not well understood. Using the Dictyostelium model system, we show that the three Diaphanous-related formins (DRFs) ForA, ForE, and ForH are regulated by the RhoA-like GTPase RacE and synergize in the assembly of filaments in the actin cortex. Single or double formin-null mutants displayed only moderate defects in cortex function whereas the concurrent elimination of all three formins or of RacE caused massive defects in cortical rigidity and architecture as assessed by aspiration assays and electron microscopy. Consistentl

SUBMITTER: Litschko C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6397521 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature