Centrosomes are composed of an orthogonal pair of centrioles surrounded by a protein matrix termed the pericentriolar material (PCM). Although centrioles and the PCM are known to play an essential role during cell division, less is known about the proteins that link these structures together. Now, Tamara Mikeladze-Dvali and colleagues report that the coiled-coil protein pericentriolar matrix deficient-1 (PCMD-1) bridges centrioles and the PCM in C. elegans embryos. They first demonstrate that the outer centriolar protein SAS-7 recruits PCMD-1 to centrioles. Using a yeast-two hybrid assay, the authors further show that, although SAS-7 and PCMD-1 do not interact directly, PCMD-1 can interact with the centriolar protein SAS-4, the PCM protein SPD-5, the mitotic kinase PLK-1, and with itself. Moreover, they find that tethering PCMD-1 at an ectopic cellular location is sufficient to recruit SPD-5 and PKL-1 to this location. The authors also examine which parts of PCMD-1 are necessary for these interactions, revealing that the coiled-coil domain promotes PCMD-1 self-interaction and loading onto the centrosome, whereas regions within the C terminal promote binding to SAS-4 and to cilia. Together, these findings lead the authors to propose a model in which PCMD-1 anchors the PCM to centrioles and functionally bridges these two centrosomal components.
PCMD-1: bridging the gap during cell division
PCMD-1: bridging the gap during cell division. Development 15 October 2021; 148 (20): e148_e2003. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
Call for papers: Uncovering Developmental Diversity
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue: Uncovering Developmental Diversity. This issue will be coordinated by our academic Editor Cassandra Extavour (Harvard University, USA) alongside two Guest Editors: Liam Dolan (Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austria) and Karen Sears (University of California Los Angeles, USA).
Choose Development in 2024
In this Editorial, Development Editor-in-Chief James Briscoe and Executive Editor Katherine Brown explain how you support your community by publishing in Development and how the journal champions serious science, community connections and progressive publishing.
Journal Meeting: From Stem Cells to Human Development
Register now for the 2024 Development Journal Meeting From Stem Cells to Human Development. Early-bird registration deadline: 3 May. Abstract submission deadline: 21 June.
Pluripotency of a founding field: rebranding developmental biology
This collaborative Perspective, the result of a workshop held in 2023, proposes a set of community actions to increase the visibility of the developmental biology field. The authors make recommendations for new funding streams, frameworks for collaborations and mechanisms by which members of the community can promote themselves and their research.
Read & Publish Open Access publishing: what authors say
We have had great feedback from authors who have benefitted from our Read & Publish agreement with their institution and have been able to publish Open Access with us without paying an APC. Read what they had to say.