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Vol. 18, Issue 10, 4037-4049, October 2007

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Proper Recruitment of -Tubulin and D-TACC/Msps to Embryonic Drosophila Centrosomes Requires Centrosomin Motif 1

Department of Pharmacology and The Cecil and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75390-9051

Submitted May 21, 2007; Revised July 20, 2007; Accepted July 25, 2007
Monitoring Editor: Yixian Zheng

Centrosomes are microtubule-organizing centers and play a dominant role in assembly of the microtubule spindle apparatus at mitosis. Although the individual binding steps in centrosome maturation are largely unknown, Centrosomin (Cnn) is an essential mitotic centrosome component required for assembly of all other known pericentriolar matrix (PCM) proteins to achieve microtubule-organizing activity at mitosis in Drosophila. We have identified a conserved motif (Motif 1) near the amino terminus of Cnn that is essential for its function in vivo. Cnn Motif 1 is necessary for proper recruitment of -tubulin, D-TACC (the homolog of vertebrate transforming acidic coiled-coil proteins [TACC]), and Minispindles (Msps) to embryonic centrosomes but is not required for assembly of other centrosome components including Aurora A kinase and CP60. Centrosome separation and centrosomal satellite formation are severely disrupted in Cnn Motif 1 mutant embryos. However, actin organization into pseudocleavage furrows, though aberrant, remains partially intact. These data show that Motif 1 is necessary for some but not all of the activities conferred on centrosome function by intact Cnn.

The online version of this article contains supplemental material at MBC Online (http://www.molbiolcell.org).

Address correspondence to: Timothy L. Megraw (timothy.megraw{at}utsouthwestern.edu)

Abbreviations used: cnn, centrosomin; MTOC, microtubule organizing center; PCM, pericentriolar material; -Tub, gamma-tubulin; D-TACC, Drosophila transforming acidic coiled coil protein; Msps, minispindles.