The C. elegans zyg-1 Gene Encodes a Regulator of Centrosome Duplication with Distinct Maternal and Paternal Roles in the Embryo

Centrosome duplication is a critical step in assembly of the bipolar mitotic spindle, but the molecular mechanisms regulating this process during the cell cycle and during animal development are poorly understood. Here, we report that the zyg-1 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans is an essential regulato...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell 2001-05, Vol.105 (4), p.547-558
Main Authors: O'Connell, Kevin F., Caron, Cathy, Kopish, Kevin R., Hurd, Daryl D., Kemphues, Kenneth J., Li, Yongjing, White, John G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
Cell Division - physiology
Centrioles - enzymology
Centrosomes
Cloning, Molecular
Fertilization - physiology
Molecular Sequence Data
Phenotype
Protein Kinases - genetics
Protein Kinases - metabolism
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
Spindle Apparatus - enzymology
zyg-1 gene
ZYG-1 protein
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Summary:Centrosome duplication is a critical step in assembly of the bipolar mitotic spindle, but the molecular mechanisms regulating this process during the cell cycle and during animal development are poorly understood. Here, we report that the zyg-1 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans is an essential regulator of centrosome duplication. ZYG-1 is a protein kinase specifically required for daughter centriole formation that localizes transiently to centrosomes and acts at least one cell cycle prior to each spindle assembly event. In the embryo, ZYG-1 participates in a unique regulatory scheme whereby paternal ZYG-1 regulates duplication and bipolar spindle assembly during the first cell cycle, and maternal ZYG-1 regulates these processes thereafter. ZYG-1 is therefore a key molecular component of the centrosome/centriole duplication process.
ISSN:0092-8674
1097-4172
DOI:10.1016/S0092-8674(01)00338-5