Centriole-less pericentriolar material serves as a microtubule organizing center at the base of C. elegans sensory cilia.

ABSTRACT: During mitosis in animal cells, the centrosome acts as a microtubule organizing center (MTOC) to assemble the mitotic spindle. MTOC function at the centrosome is driven by proteins within the pericentriolar material (PCM), however the molecular complexity of the PCM makes it difficult to differentiate the proteins required for MTOC activity from other centrosomal functions. We used the natural spatial separation of PCM proteins during mitotic exit to identify a minimal module of proteins required for centrosomal MTOC function in C. elegans. Using tissue-specific degradation, we show that SPD-5, the functional homolog of CDK5RAP2, is essential for embryonic mitosis, while SPD-2/CEP192 and PCMD-1, which are essential in the one-cell embryo, are dispensable. Surprisingly, although the centrio

SUBMITTER: Magescas J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8277230 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature