The Kinetochore-Microtubule Coupling Machinery Is Repurposed in Sensory Nervous System Morphogenesis

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Developmental Cell. 2019 Jul;48:864-872.e7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2019.02.002

The Kinetochore-Microtubule Coupling Machinery Is Repurposed in Sensory Nervous System Morphogenesis Wang (Shaohe) Lab

Cheerambathur Dhanya, Prevo Bram, Chow Tiffany-Lynn, Hattersley Neil, Wang Shaohe, Zhao Zhiling, Kim Taekyung, Gerson-Gurwitz Adina, Oegema Karen, Green Rebecca, Desai Arshad

Note: Research in this publication was not performed at Janelia.

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Abstract

Summary Dynamic coupling of microtubule ends to kinetochores, built on the centromeres of chromosomes, directs chromosome segregation during cell division. Here, we report that the evolutionarily ancient kinetochore-microtubule coupling machine, the KMN (Knl1/Mis12/Ndc80-complex) network, plays a critical role in neuronal morphogenesis. We show that the KMN network concentrates in microtubule-rich dendrites of developing sensory neurons that collectively extend in a multicellular morphogenetic event that occurs during C. elegans embryogenesis. Post-mitotic degradation of KMN components in sensory neurons disrupts dendritic extension, leading to patterning and functional defects in the sensory nervous system. Structure-guided mutations revealed that the molecular interface that couples kinetochores to spindle microtubules also functions in neuronal development. These results identify a cell-division-independent function for the chromosome-segregation machinery and define a microtubule-coupling-dependent event in sensory nervous system morphogenesis.

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The Kinetochore-Microtubule Coupling Machinery Is Repurposed in Sensory Nervous System Morphogenesis

Note: Research in this publication was not performed at Janelia.

Abstract

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