Cytokinesis, the final step in cell division, partitions the contents of a single cell into two. In animal cells, cytokinesis occurs through cortical remodeling orchestrated by the anaphase spindle. Cytokinesis relies on a tight interplay between signaling and cellular mechanics and has attracted the attention of both biologists and physicists for more than a century. In this review, we provide an overview of four topics in animal cell cytokinesis: (a) signaling between the anaphase spindle and cortex, (b) the mechanics of cortical remodeling, (c) abscission, and (d) regulation of cytokinesis by the cell cycle machinery. We report on recent progress in these areas and highlight some of the outstanding questions that these findings bring into focus.

SUMMARY High-content screening for gene profiling has generally been limited to single cells. Here, we explore an alternative approach—profiling gene function by analyzing effects of gene knockdowns on the architecture of a complex tissue in a multicellular organism. We profile 554 essential C. elegans genes by imaging gonad architecture and scoring 94 phenotypic features. To generate a reference for evaluating methods for network construction, genes were manually partitioned into 102 phenotypic classes, predicting functions for uncharacterized genes across diverse cellular processes. Using this classification as a benchmark, we developed a robust computational method for constructing gene networks from high-content profiles based on a network context-dependent measure that ranks the significance of links between genes. Our analysis reveals that multi-parametric profiling in a complex tissue yields functional maps with a resolution similar to genetic interaction-based profiling in unicellular eukaryotes—pinpointing subunits of macromolecular complexes and components functioning in common cellular processes.

Non-centrosomal microtubule arrays assemble in differentiated tissues to perform mechanical and transport-based functions. In this study, we identify Caenorhabditis elegans NOCA-1 as a protein with homology to vertebrate ninein. NOCA-1 contributes to the assembly of non-centrosomal microtubule arrays in multiple tissues. In the larval epidermis, NOCA-1 functions redundantly with the minus end protection factor Patronin/PTRN-1 to assemble a circumferential microtubule array essential for worm growth and morphogenesis. Controlled degradation of a γ-tubulin complex subunit in this tissue revealed that γ-tubulin acts with NOCA-1 in parallel to Patronin/PTRN-1. In the germline, NOCA-1 and γ-tubulin co-localize at the cell surface, and inhibiting either leads to a microtubule assembly defect. γ-tubulin targets independently of NOCA-1, but NOCA-1 targeting requires γ-tubulin when a non-essential putatively palmitoylated cysteine is mutated. These results show that NOCA-1 acts with γ-tubulin to assemble non-centrosomal arrays in multiple tissues and highlight functional overlap between the ninein and Patronin protein families.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.08649.001

Recently, we have shown that a cancer causing truncation in adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) (APC1–1450) dominantly interferes with mitotic spindle function, suggesting APC regulates microtubule dynamics during mitosis. Here, we examine the possibility that APC mutants interfere with the function of EB1, a plus-end microtubule-binding protein that interacts with APC and is required for normal microtubule dynamics. We show that siRNA-mediated inhibition of APC, EB1, or APC and EB1 together give rise to similar defects in mitotic spindles and chromosome alignment without arresting cells in mitosis; in contrast inhibition of CLIP170 or LIS1 cause distinct spindle defects and mitotic arrest. We show that APC1–1450 acts as a dominant negative by forming a hetero-oligomer with the full-length APC and preventing it from interacting with EB1, which is consistent with a functional relationship between APC and EB1. Live-imaging of mitotic cells expressing EB1-GFP demonstrates that APC1–1450 compromises the dynamics of EB1-comets, increasing the frequency of EB1-GFP pausing. Together these data provide novel insight into how APC may regulate mitotic spindle function and how errors in chromosome segregation are tolerated in tumor cells.

The attachment of microtubule plus ends to kinetochores and to the cell cortex is essential for the fidelity of chromosome segregation. Here, we characterize the causes underlying the high rates of chromosome instability (CIN+) observed in colorectal tumor cells. We show that CIN+ tumor cells exhibit inefficient microtubule plus-end attachments during mitosis, accompanied by impairment of chromosome alignment in metaphase. The mitotic abnormalities associated with CIN+ tumor cells correlated with status of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC). Importantly, we have shown that a single truncating mutation in APC, similar to mutations found in tumor cells, acts dominantly to interfere with microtubule plus-end attachments and to cause a dramatic increase in mitotic abnormalities. We propose that APC functions to modulate microtubule plus-end attachments during mitosis, and that a single mutant APC allele predisposes cells to increased mitotic abnormalities, which may contribute to tumor progression.

First-row metal complexes often undergo undesirable one-electron redox processes during two-electron steps of catalytic cycles. We report the amination of aryl chlorides and bromides with primary aliphatic amines catalyzed by a well-defined, single-component nickel precursor (BINAP)Ni(η2-NC-Ph) (BINAP = 2,2′-bis(biphenylphosphino)-1,1′-binaphthalene) that minimizes the formation of Ni(I) species and (BINAP)2Ni. The scope of the reaction encompasses electronically varied aryl chlorides and nitrogen-containing heteroaryl chlorides, including pyridine, quinoline, and isoquinoline derivatives. Mechanistic studies support the catalytic cycle involving a Ni(0)/Ni(II) couple for this nickel-catalyzed amination and are inconsistent with a Ni(I) halide intermediate. Monitoring the reaction mixture by 31P NMR spectroscopy identified (BINAP)Ni(η2-NC-Ph) as the resting state of the catalyst in the amination of both aryl chlorides and bromides. Kinetic studies showed that the amination of aryl chlorides and bromides is first order in both catalyst and aryl halide and zero order in base and amine. The reaction of a representative aryl chloride is inverse first order in PhCN, but the reaction of a representative aryl bromide is zero order in PhCN. This difference in the order of the reaction in PhCN indicates that the aryl chloride reacts with (BINAP)Ni(0), formed by dissociation PhCN from (BINAP)Ni(η2-NC-Ph), but the aryl bromide directly reacts with (BINAP)Ni(η2-NC-Ph). The overall kinetic behavior is consistent with turnover-limiting oxidative addition of the aryl halide to Ni(0). Several pathways for catalyst decomposition were identified, such as the formation of the catalytically inactive bis(amine)-ligated arylnickel(II) chloride, (BINAP)2Ni(0), and the Ni(I) species [(BINAP)Ni(μ-Cl)]2. By using a well-defined nickel complex as catalyst, the formation of (BINAP)2Ni(0) is avoided and the formation of the Ni(I) species [(BINAP)Ni(μ-Cl)]2 is minimized.

Previous research has proposed that genomic instability contributes to cancer progression, with its initiation linked to tetraploid cell formation (Duesberg, P., and R. Li. 2003. Cell Cycle. 2:202–210; Ganem, N.J., Z. Storchova, and D. Pellman. 2007. Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 17:157–162). However, there is little direct evidence linking cancer-causing mutations with such events, and it remains controversial whether genomic instability is a cause or an effect of cancer. In this study, we show that adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) mutations found in human colorectal cancers dominantly inhibit cytokinesis by preventing mitotic spindle anchoring at the anaphase cortex and, thus, blocking initiation of the cytokinetic furrow. We find that dividing crypt cells in the small intestines of APCMin/+ mice exhibit similar mitotic defects, including misoriented spindles and misaligned chromosomes. These defects are observed in normal crypt cells with wild-type levels of β-catenin and, importantly, are associated with tetraploid genotypes. We provide direct evidence that the dominant activity of APC mutants induces aneuploidy in vivo. Our data support a model whereby tetraploid cells represent a first step in the onset of genomic instability and colorectal cancer.

Aurora A kinase localizes to centrosomes and is required for centrosome maturation and spindle assembly. Here we describe a microtubule-independent role for Aurora A and centrosomes in nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD) during the first mitotic division of the C. elegans embryo. Aurora A depletion does not alter the onset or kinetics of chromosome condensation, but dramatically lengthens the interval between the completion of condensation and NEBD. Inhibiting centrosome assembly by other means also lengthens this interval, albeit to a lesser extent than Aurora A depletion. By contrast, centrosomally nucleated microtubules and the nuclear envelope-associated motor dynein are not required for timely NEBD. These results indicate that mitotic centrosomes generate a diffusible factor, which we propose is activated Aurora A, that promotes NEBD. A positive feedback loop, in which an Aurora A-dependent increase in centrosome size promotes Aurora A activation, may temporally couple centrosome maturation to NEBD during mitotic entry.