A Highlights from MBoC Selection: Drosophila pericentrin requires interaction with calmodulin for its function at centrosomes and neuronal basal bodies but not at sperm basal bodies |
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| Authors: | Brian J Galletta Rodrigo X Guillen Carey J Fagerstrom Chris W Brownlee Dorothy A Lerit Timothy L Megraw Gregory C Rogers Nasser M Rusan |
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| Institution: | Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência;aCell Biology and Physiology Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892;bDepartment of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Arizona Cancer Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724;cDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL 32304 |
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| Abstract: | Pericentrin is a critical centrosomal protein required for organizing pericentriolar material (PCM) in mitosis. Mutations in pericentrin cause the human genetic disorder Majewski/microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II, making a detailed understanding of its regulation extremely important. Germaine to pericentrin''s function in organizing PCM is its ability to localize to the centrosome through the conserved C-terminal PACT domain. Here we use Drosophila pericentrin-like-protein (PLP) to understand how the PACT domain is regulated. We show that the interaction of PLP with calmodulin (CaM) at two highly conserved CaM-binding sites in the PACT domain controls the proper targeting of PLP to the centrosome. Disrupting the PLP-CaM interaction with single point mutations renders PLP inefficient in localizing to centrioles in cultured S2 cells and Drosophila neuroblasts. Although levels of PCM are unaffected, it is highly disorganized. We also demonstrate that basal body formation in the male testes and the production of functional sperm does not rely on the PLP-CaM interaction, whereas production of functional mechanosensory neurons does. |
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