LET-711, the Caenorhabditis elegans NOT1 ortholog, is required for spindle positioning and regulation of microtubule length in embryos.
Spindle positioning is essential for the segregation of cell fate determinants during asymmetric division, as well as for proper cellular arrangements during development. In Caenorhabditis elegans embryos, spindle positioning depends on interactions between the astral microtubules and the cell cortex. Here we show that let-711 is required for spindle positioning in the early embryo. Strong loss of let-711 function leads to sterility, whereas partial loss of function results in embryos with defects in the centration and rotation movements that position the first mitotic spindle. let-711 mutant embryos have longer microtubules that are more cold-stable than in wild type, a phenotype opposite to the short microtubule phenotype caused by mutations in the C. elegans XMAP215 homolog ZYG-9. Simultaneous reduction of both ZYG-9 and LET-711 can rescue the centration and rotation defects of both single mutants. let-711 mutant embryos also have larger than wild-type centrosomes at which higher levels of ZYG-9 accumulate compared with wild type. Molecular identification of LET-711 shows it to be an ortholog of NOT1, the core component of the CCR4/NOT complex, which plays roles in the negative regulation of gene expression at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels in yeast, flies, and mammals. We therefore propose that LET-711 inhibits the expression of ZYG-9 and potentially other centrosome-associated proteins, in order to maintain normal centrosome size and microtubule dynamics during early embryonic divisions.
DeBella
Leah R
LR
Section of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Hayashi
Adam
A
Rose
Lesilee S
LS
D000818:Animals; D064096:Aurora Kinase A; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D018385:Centrosome / Q000378:metabolism; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D021381:Protein Transport; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017385:Sequence Homology; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D014404:Tubulin / Q000378:metabolism
C079592:CDC39 protein, S cerevisiae; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C516177:LET-711 protein, C elegans; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014404:Tubulin; C112750:ZYG-9 protein, C elegans; D064096:Aurora Kinase A; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C576939:air-1 protein, C elegans