title: Phosphorylation of SAS-6 by ZYG-1 is critical for centriole formation in C. elegans embryos.
abstract: Despite being essential for proper cell division, the mechanisms governing centrosome duplication are incompletely understood and represent an important open question in cell biology. Formation of a new centriole next to each existing one is critical for centrosome duplication. In Caenorhabditis elegans embryos, the proteins SPD-2, ZYG-1, SAS-6, SAS-5, and SAS-4 are essential for centriole formation, but the mechanisms underlying their requirement remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the kinase ZYG-1 phosphorylates the coiled-coil protein SAS-6 at serine 123 in vitro. Importantly, we show that this phosphorylation event is crucial for centriole formation in vivo. Furthermore, we establish that such phosphorylation ensures the maintenance of SAS-6 at the emerging centriole. Overall, our findings establish that phosphorylation of the evolutionarily conserved protein SAS-6 is critical for centriole formation and thus for faithful cell division.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daiju
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kitagawa
authors.forename: Coralie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Busso
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Flückiger
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gönczy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002502:Centrioles / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C497201:SAS-6 protein, C elegans; C486131:SPD-2 protein, C elegans; D011494:Protein Kinases; C429649:zyg-1 protein, C elegans