Dividing the spoils of growth and the cell cycle: The fission yeast as a model for the study of cytokinesis

Abstract

Cytokinesis is the final stage of the cell cycle, and ensures completion of both genome segregation and organelle distribution to the daughter cells. Cytokinesis requires the cell to solve a spatial problem (to divide in the correct place, orthogonally to the plane of chromosome segregation) and a temporal problem (to coordinate cytokinesis with mitosis). Defects in the spatiotemporal control of cytokinesis may cause cell death, or increase the risk of tumor formation [Fujiwara et al., 2005 (Fujiwara T, Bandi M, Nitta M, Ivanova EV, Bronson RT, Pellman D. 2005. Cytokinesis failure generating tetraploids promotes tumorigenesis in p53-null cells. Nature 437:1043–1047); reviewed by Ganem et al., 2007 (Ganem NJ, Storchova Z, Pellman D. 2007. Tetraploidy, aneuploidy and cancer. Curr Opin Genet Dev 17:157–162.)]. Asymmetric cytokinesis, which permits the generation of two daughter cells that differ in their shape, size and properties, is important both during development, and for cellular homeostasis in multicellular organisms [reviewed by Li, 2007 (Li R. 2007. Cytokinesis in development and disease: variations on a common theme. Cell Mol Life Sci 64:3044–3058)]. The principal focus of this review will be the mechanisms of cytokinesis in the mitotic cycle of the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. This simple model has contributed significantly to our understanding of how the cell cycle is regulated, and serves as an excellent model for studying aspects of cytokinesis. Here we will discuss the state of our knowledge of how the contractile ring is assembled and disassembled, how it contracts, and what we know of the regulatory mechanisms that control these events and assure their coordination with chromosome segregation. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Characterization of ypa1 and ypa2, the Schizosaccharomyces pombe Orthologs of the Peptidyl Proyl Isomerases That Activate PP2A, Reveals a Role for Ypa2p in the Regulation of Cytokinesis

“…The S. pombe septation initiation network (SIN) is a network of protein kinases that is essential for cytokinesis in the mitotic cycle; reviewed by (Gould and Simanis 1997;Simanis 2003;Wolfe and Gould 2005;Goyal et al 2011). It is tightly regulated through the mitotic cell cycle to assure proper coordination of mitosis and cytokinesis, and during meiosis, where it is essential for spore formation (Krapp et al 2006).…”

“…Association of SIN proteins with the spindle pole body (SPB) at various points of the cell cycle plays an important role in SIN regulation, and therefore in the coordination of mitosis and cytokinesis (reviewed by Simanis 2003;Wolfe and Gould 2005;Lattmann et al 2009;Goyal et al 2011). SIN proteins associate with the SPB via a tripartite scaffold composed of Ppc89p, Sid4p, and Cdc11p (Chang and Gould 2000;Krapp et al 2001;Tomlin et al 2002;Morrell et al 2004;Rosenberg et al 2006).…”

“…Some of the SIN proteins (Cdc7p, Cdc16p, Byr4p, Sid1p, and Cdc14p) show asymmetric localization on one of the two SPBs during mitosis (Sohrmann et al 1998;Cerutti and Simanis 1999;Guertin et al 2000;Li et al 2000), which is thought to be important for regulating SIN activity (Garcia-Cortes and McCollum 2009). A summary of the localization behavior of the SIN proteins in mitosis and meiosis can be found in Simanis (2003); Lattmann et al (2009);Goyal et al (2011). …”

Mid1/anillin and the spatial regulation of cytokinesis in fission yeast

“…Cell division can indeed be symmetric or asymmetric to allow the generation of daughter cells of different sizes. Orientation of the division plane is also modulated to properly position the daughter cells inside embryos or tissues and to permit the asymmetrical segregation of morphogens governing cell fate.This review will essentially cover the spatial regulatory pathways that control division plane positioning in the single-cell organism Schizosaccharomyces pombe which has emerged as an excellent model system to study cytokinesis because of its relative simple organization, the reproducibility in its division habits and its easy genetics [see Bathe and Chang, 2010;Laporte et al, 2010;Pollard and Wu, 2010;Almonacid and Paoletti, 2010;Goyal et al, 2011 for reviews].As other fungi, fission yeast cells divide by assembly and constriction of an actomyosin-based contractile ring in close association with the plasma membrane [Marks Cytoskeleton, October 2012 69:764-777 (doi: 10.1002 V C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. …”

“…This review will essentially cover the spatial regulatory pathways that control division plane positioning in the single-cell organism Schizosaccharomyces pombe which has emerged as an excellent model system to study cytokinesis because of its relative simple organization, the reproducibility in its division habits and its easy genetics [see Bathe and Chang, 2010;Laporte et al, 2010;Pollard and Wu, 2010;Almonacid and Paoletti, 2010;Goyal et al, 2011 for reviews].…”