title: Novel response to microtubule perturbation in meiosis.
abstract: During the mitotic cell cycle, microtubule depolymerization leads to a cell cycle arrest in metaphase, due to activation of the spindle checkpoint. Here, we show that under microtubule-destabilizing conditions, such as low temperature or the presence of the spindle-depolymerizing drug benomyl, meiotic budding yeast cells arrest in G(1) or G(2), instead of metaphase. Cells arrest in G(1) if microtubule perturbation occurs as they enter the meiotic cell cycle and in G(2) if cells are already undergoing premeiotic S phase. Concomitantly, cells down-regulate genes required for cell cycle progression, meiotic differentiation, and spore formation in a highly coordinated manner. Decreased expression of these genes is likely to be responsible for halting both cell cycle progression and meiotic development. Our results point towards the existence of a novel surveillance mechanism of microtubule integrity that may be particularly important during specialized cell cycles when coordination of cell cycle progression with a developmental program is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Center for Cancer Research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, E17-233, 40 Ames St., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hochwagen
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wrobel
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cartron
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Demougin
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Niederhauser-Wiederkehr
authors.forename: Monica G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Boselli
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Primig
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amon
mesh_terms: D001542:Benomyl / Q000494:pharmacology; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D023902:Chromosome Pairing / Q000187:drug effects; D003080:Cold Temperature; D019926:Cyclin B; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D016213:Cyclins / Q000378:metabolism; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000494:pharmacology; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008540:Meiosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D008870:Microtubules / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C491083:CLB3 protein, S cerevisiae; D019926:Cyclin B; D016213:Cyclins; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases; D001542:Benomyl