Roquin is an E3 ubiquitin ligase with a poorly understood but essential role in preventing T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease and in microRNAmediated repression of inducible costimulator (Icos) mRNA. Roquin and its mammalian paralogue membrane-associated nucleic acid binding protein (MNAB) define a protein family distinguished by an 200 amino acid domain of unknown function, ROQ, that is highly conserved from mammals to invertebrates and is flanked by a RING-1 zinc finger and a CCCH zinc finger. Here we show that human, Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans Roquin and human MNAB localize to the cytoplasm and upon stress are concentrated in stress granules, where stalled mRNA translation complexes are stored. The ROQ domain is necessary and sufficient for localization to arsenite-induced stress granules and to induce these structures upon overexpression, and is required to trigger Icos mRNA decay. Gel-shift, SPR and footprinting studies show that an N-terminal fragment centred on the ROQ domain binds RNA from the Icos 3¢-untranslated region comprising the minimal sequence for Roquin-mediated repression, adjacent to the miR-101 sequence complementarity. These findings identify Roquin as an RNA-binding protein and establish a specific function for the ROQ protein domain in mRNA homeostasis. Abbreviations Dcp1a, decapping enzyme 1; FMRP, Fragile X mental retardation protein; G3BP, Ras-GAP SH3 domain-binding protein; GFP, green fluorescent protein; Icos, inducible costimulator; miRNA, microRNA; MNAB, membrane-associated nucleic acid binding protein; REMSA, RNA electrophoresis mobility shift assay; TIA, T-cell intracellular antigen; TIS11, TPA-induced sequence 11; TTP, tristetraprolin.

A central question in understanding cytokinesis is how the cleavage plane is positioned. Although the positioning signal is likely to be transmitted via the anaphase microtubule array to the cell cortex, exactly how the microtubule array determines the site of contractile ring formation remains unresolved. By analysing tum/RacGAP50C mutant Drosophila embryos we show that cells lacking Tum do not form furrows and fail to localise the key cytokinetic components Pebble (a RhoGEF), Aurora B kinase, Diaphanous, Pav-KLP and Anillin. The GAP activity of Tum is required for cytokinesis: in its absence cytokinesis fails early even though Tum is present on microtubules at the cell equator where the furrow should form. Disruption of the Pebble-interacting domain leaves Tum localised to the cell equator on cortically associated microtubules, again with no evidence of furrowing. These data support a model in which Tum/RacGAP, via its interaction with Pbl, provides a critical link between the anaphase microtubule spindle and cytokinetic furrow formation in Drosophila cells.

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