Mediation of meiotic and early mitotic chromosome segregation in Drosophila by a protein related to kinesin (original) (raw)

Nature volume 345, pages 81–83 (1990)Cite this article

Abstract

CONTRARY to the traditional view that microtubules pull chromosomes polewards during the anaphase stage of meiotic and mitotic cell divisions, new evidence suggests that the chromosome movements are driven by a motor located at the kinetochore1–3. The process of chromosome segregation involves proper arrangement of kinetochores for spindle attachment, followed by spindle attachment and chromosome movement. Mechanisms in Drosophila for chromosome segregation in meiosis differ in males and females4, implying the action of different gene products in the two sexes. A product encoded at the claret locus in Drosophila is required for normal chromosome segregation in meiosis in females and in early mitotic divisions of the embryo. Here we show that the predicted amino-acid sequence of this product is related to the heavy chain of kinesin5. The conserved region corresponds to the kinesin motor domain and includes the ATP-binding site and a region that can bind microtubules. A second region contains a leucine repeat motif which may mediate protein–subunit interactions necessary for attachment of chromosomes to the spindle. The mutant phenotype of chromosome nondisjunction and loss, and its similarity to the kinesin ATP-binding domain, suggest that the product encoded at claret not only stabilizes chromosome attachments to the spindle, but may also be a motor that drives chromosome segregation in female meiosis.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.90 per issue

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Additional access options:

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Gorbsky, G. J., Sammak, P. J. & Borisy, G. G. J. Cell Biol. 104, 9–18 (1988).
    Article Google Scholar
  2. Nicklas, R. B. J. Cell Biol. 109, 2245–2255 (1989).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  3. Rieder, C. L., Alexander, S. P. & Rupp, G. J. Cell Biol. 110, 81–95 (1990).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  4. Cooper, K. W. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 52, 1248–1255 (1964).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  5. Yang, J. T., Laymon, R. A. & Goldstein, L. S. B. Cell 56, 879–889 (1989).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  6. Landschulz, W. H., Johnson, P. F. & McKnight S. L. Science 240, 1759–1764 (1988).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  7. Yamamoto, A. H., Komma, D. J., Shaffer, C. D., Pirrotta, V. & Endow, S. A. EMBO J. 8, 3543–3552 (1989).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  8. Davis, D. G. Genetics 61, 577–594 (1969).
    CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
  9. Wickens, M. & Stephenson, P. Science 226, 1045–1051 (1984).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  10. Cavener, D. R. Nucleic Acids Res. 15, 1353–1361 (1987).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  11. Henikoff, S. & Wallace, J. C. Nucleic Acids Res. 16, 6191–6204 (1988).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  12. Vale, R. D., Reese, T. S. & Sheetz, M. P. Cell 42, 39–50 (1985).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  13. Yang, J. T., Saxton, W. M. & Goldstein, L. S. B. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 1864–1868 (1988).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  14. Hirokawa, N. et al. Cell 56, 867–878 (1989).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  15. Scholey, J. M., Heuser, J., Yang, J. T. & Goldstein, L. S. B. Nature 338, 355–357 (1989).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  16. Hodges, R. S., Sodek, J., Smillie, L. B. & Jurasek, L. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol. 37, 299–310 (1982).
    Article Google Scholar
  17. Richardson, J. S. & Richardson, D. C. in Prediction of Protein Structure and the Principles of Protein Conformation (ed. Fasman, G. D.) 1–98 (Plenum, New York, 1989).
    Book Google Scholar
  18. O'Shea, E. K., Rutkowski, R. & Kim, P. S. Science 243, 538–542 (1989).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  19. Mitchison, T. J. & Kirschner, M. W. J. Cell Biol. 101, 766–777 (1985).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  20. Meluh, P. B. & Rose, M. D. Cell 60, 1029–1041 (1990).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  21. Enos, A. P. & Morris, N. R. Cell 60, 1019–1027 (1990).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  22. Baker, B. S. Genetics 80, 267–296 (1975).
    CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
  23. Sturtevant, A. H. Z. Wiss. Zool. 135, 323–356 (1929).
    Google Scholar
  24. Studier, F. W., Rosenberg, A. H. & Dunn, J. J. Meth. Enzym. (in the press).

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Linda Soler-Niedziela
    Present address: Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
  2. Sharyn A. Endow: To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, 27710, USA
    Sharyn A. Endow & Linda Soler-Niedziela
  2. Fred Hutchmson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, 98104, USA
    Steven Henikoff

Authors

  1. Sharyn A. Endow
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  2. Steven Henikoff
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  3. Linda Soler-Niedziela
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Endow, S., Henikoff, S. & Soler-Niedziela, L. Mediation of meiotic and early mitotic chromosome segregation in Drosophila by a protein related to kinesin.Nature 345, 81–83 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/345081a0

Download citation

This article is cited by