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Published September 6, 1999 | Published
Journal Article Open

mini spindles: A Gene Encoding a Conserved Microtubule-Associated Protein Required for the Integrity of the Mitotic Spindle in Drosophila

Abstract

We describe a new Drosophila gene, mini spindles (msps) identified in a cytological screen for mitotic mutant. Mutation in msps disrupts the structural integrity of the mitotic spindle, resulting in the formation of one or more small additional spindles in diploid cells. Nucleation of microtubules from centrosomes, metaphase alignment of chromosomes, or the focusing of spindle poles appears much less affected. The msps gene encodes a 227-kD protein with high similarity to the vertebrate microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), human TOGp and Xenopus XMAP215, and with limited similarity to the Dis1 and STU2 proteins from fission yeast and budding yeast. Consistent with their sequence similarity, Msps protein also associates with microtubules in vitro. In the embryonic division cycles, Msps protein localizes to centrosomal regions at all mitotic stages, and spreads over the spindles during metaphase and anaphase. The absence of centrosomal staining in interphase of the cellularized embryos suggests that the interactions between Msps protein and microtubules or centrosomes may be regulated during the cell cycle.

Additional Information

© 1999 The Rockefeller University Press. After the Initial Publication Period, RUP will grant to the public the non-exclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the Article under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International license, as described at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode, or updates thereof. Submitted: 15 June 1999. Revised: 26 July 1999. Accepted: 27 July 1999. We thank Dr. Karen May for critical reading of the manuscript, Dr. Robert Saunders for helping with cosmid screening, and Professor Keith Gull for an antibody. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust, the Cancer Research Campaign, and the Medical Research Council. H. Ohkura receives a Wellcome Senior Research Fellowship for Basic Biomedical Sciences.

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August 19, 2023
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