Schizosaccharomyces pombe cdc4 super(+) gene encodes a novel EF-hand protein essential for cytokinesis

Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells divide by medial fission. One class of cell division mutants (cdc), the late septation mutants, defines four genes: cdc3, cdc4, cdc8, and cdc12. We have cloned and characterized the cdc4 gene and show that the predicted gene product, Cdc4p, is a 141-amino acid polypep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of cell biology 1995-01, Vol.130 (3), p.651-660
Main Authors: McCollum, D, Balasubramanian, M K, Pelcher, LE, Hemmingsen, S M, Gould, K L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
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Summary:Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells divide by medial fission. One class of cell division mutants (cdc), the late septation mutants, defines four genes: cdc3, cdc4, cdc8, and cdc12. We have cloned and characterized the cdc4 gene and show that the predicted gene product, Cdc4p, is a 141-amino acid polypeptide that is similar in sequence to EF-hand proteins including myosin light chains, calmodulin, and troponin C. Two temperature-sensitive lethal alleles, cdc4-8 and cdc4-31, accumulate multiple nuclei and multiple improper F-actin rings and septa but fail to complete cytokinesis. Deletion of cdc4 also results in a lethal terminal phenotype characterized by multinucleate, elongated cells that fail to complete cytokinesis. Sequence comparisons suggest that Cdc4p may be a member of a new class of EF-hand proteins. Cdc4p localizes to a ringlike structure in the medial region of cells undergoing cytokinesis. Thus, Cdc4p appears to be an essential component of the F-actin contractile ring. We find that Cdc4 protein forms a complex with a 200-kD protein which can be cross-linked to UTP, a property common to myosin heavy chains. Together these results suggest that Cdc4p may be a novel myosin light chain.
ISSN:0021-9525