title: NIMA-related kinase TbNRKC is involved in basal body separation in Trypanosoma brucei.
abstract: The NIMA-related kinase 2 (NEK 2) has important cell cycle functions related to centriole integrity and splitting. Trypanosoma brucei does not possess centrioles, however, cytokinesis is coupled to basal body separation events. Here we report the first functional characterisation of a T. brucei basal body-cytoskeletal NIMA-related kinase (NRK) protein, TbNRKC. The TbNRKC kinase domain has high amino acid identity with the human NEK1 kinase domain (50%) but also shares 42% identity with human NEK2. TbNRKC is expressed in bloodstream and procyclic cells and functions as a bona fide kinase in vitro. Remarkably, RNAi knockdown of TbNRKC and overexpression of kinase-dead TbNRKC in procyclic forms induces the accumulation of cells with four basal bodies, whereas overexpression of active protein produces supernumary basal bodies and blocks cytokinesis. TbNRKC is located on mature and immature basal bodies and is the first T. brucei NRK to be found associated with the basal body cytokinesis pathway.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génomique Fonctionnelle des Trypanosomatides, CNRS UMR 5162, Université Bordeaux 2, 146 rue Léo Saignat, Bât. 3A, 33076 Bordeaux CEDEX, France.
authors.forename: Lydie C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Pradel
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonhivers
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Landrein
authors.forename: Derrick R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Robinson
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology*; D005407:Flagella / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D000072380:NIMA-Related Kinase 1; D010641:Phenotype; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D034622:RNA Interference; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; C000606914:NEK1 protein, human; D000072380:NIMA-Related Kinase 1; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases