Aberrant spindle dynamics and cytokinesis in Dictyostelium discoideum cells that lack glycogen synthase kinase 3

Eukaryotic cell division requires the co-ordinated assembly and disassembly of the mitotic spindle, accurate chromosome segregation and temporal control of cytokinesis to generate two daughter cells. While the absolute details of these processes differ between organisms, there are evolutionarily conserved core components common to all eukaryotic cells, whose identification will reveal the key processes that control cell division. Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) is a major protein kinase found throughout the eukaryotes and regulates many processes, including cell differentiation, growth, motility and apoptosis. In animals, GSK-3 associates with mitotic spindles and its inhibition causes mis-regulation of chromosome segregation. Two suppressor screens in yeast point to a more general effect of GSK-3 on cell division, however the direct role of GSK-3 in control of mitosis has not been explored outside the animal kingdom. Here we report that the Dictyostelium discoideum GSK-3 orthologue, GskA, associates with the mitotic spindle during cell division, as seen for its mammalian counterparts. Dictyostelium possesses only a single GSK-3 gene that can be deleted to eliminate all GSK-3 activity. We found that gskA-null mutants failed to elongate their mitotic spindle and were unable to divide in shaking culture, but have no chromosome segregation defect. These results suggest further conservation for the role of GSK-3 in the regulation of spindle dynamics during mitosis, but also reveal differences in the mechanisms ensuring accurate chromosome segregation.