Fission yeast IQGAP arranges actin filaments into the cytokinetic contractile ring

EMBO J. 2009 Oct 21;28(20):3117-31. doi: 10.1038/emboj.2009.252. Epub 2009 Aug 27.

Abstract

The contractile ring (CR) consists of bundled actin filaments and myosin II; however, the actin-bundling factor remains elusive. We show that the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe IQGAP Rng2 is involved in the generation of CR F-actin and required for its arrangement into a ring. An N-terminal fragment of Rng2 is necessary for the function of Rng2 and is localized to CR F-actin. In vitro the fragment promotes actin polymerization and forms linear arrays of F-actin, which are resistant to the depolymerization induced by the actin-depolymerizing factor Adf1. Our findings indicate that Rng2 is involved in the generation of CR F-actin and simultaneously bundles the filaments and regulates its dynamics by counteracting the effects of Adf1, thus enabling the reconstruction of CR F-actin bundles, which provides an insight into the physical properties of the building blocks that comprise the CR.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Actin Cytoskeleton / metabolism*
  • Actins / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / physiology*
  • Cytokinesis / genetics
  • Cytokinesis / physiology*
  • Cytoskeleton / metabolism
  • GTPase-Activating Proteins / genetics
  • GTPase-Activating Proteins / metabolism
  • GTPase-Activating Proteins / physiology*
  • Mutation
  • Protein Binding
  • Rabbits
  • Schizosaccharomyces / genetics
  • Schizosaccharomyces / metabolism*
  • Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / genetics
  • Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / metabolism
  • Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / physiology*
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence
  • Temperature

Substances

  • Actins
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • GTPase-Activating Proteins
  • Rng2 protein, S pombe
  • Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins