Actomyosin tube formation in polar body cytokinesis requires Anillin in C. elegans.
Polar body extrusion (PBE) is the specialized asymmetric division by which oocytes accomplish reduction in ploidy and retention of cytoplasm. During maternal gametogenesis, as in male meiosis and mitosis, cytokinesis is accomplished by a ring rich in active Rho, myosin, and formin-nucleated F-actin [1-7]. However, unlike mitosis, wherein the contractile ring encircles the cell equator, the polar body ring assembles as a discoid cortical washer. Here we show that in Caenorhabditis elegans, the meiotic contractile ring transforms during closure from a disc above the spindle to a cylinder around the spindle midzone. The meiotic midbody tube comprises stacked cytoskeletal rings. This topological transition suggests a novel mechanism for constriction of an initially discoid cytokinetic ring. Analysis of mouse PBE indicates that midbody tube formation is a conserved process. Depletion of the scaffold protein anillin (ANI-1) from C. elegans results in large and unstable polar bodies that often fuse with the oocyte. Anillin is dispensable for contractile ring assembly, initiation, and closure but is required for the meiotic contractile ring to transform from a disc into a tube. We propose that cytoskeletal bundling by anillin promotes formation of the midbody tube, which ensures the fidelity of PBE.
Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer and Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Université de Montréal, P.O. Box 6128, Station Centre-Ville, Montréal QC, H3C 3J7, Canada.
Jonas F
JF
Dorn
Li
L
Zhang
Véronique
V
Paradis
Daniel
D
Edoh-Bedi
Sylvester
S
Jusu
Paul S
PS
Maddox
Amy Shaub
AS
Maddox
D000205:Actomyosin / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D016764:Cell Polarity; D048749:Cytokinesis / Q000502:physiology*; D008540:Meiosis / Q000502:physiology; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological
C502566:ANI-1 protein, C elegans; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D000205:Actomyosin