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Angelika Amon

Publications and source records attributed to Angelika Amon.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Role of Polo-like kinase CDC5 in programming meiosis I chromosome segregation.

Meiosis is a specialized cell division in which two chromosome segregation phases follow a single DNA replication phase. The budding yeast Polo-like kinase Cdc5 was found to be instrumental in establishing the meiosis I chromosome segregation program. Cdc5 was required to phosphorylate and remove meiotic cohesin from chromosomes. Furthermore, in the absence of CDC5 kinetochores were bioriented during meiosis I, and Mam1, a protein essential for coorientation, failed to associate with kinetochores. Thus, sister-kinetochore coorientation and chromosome segregation during meiosis I are coupled through their dependence on CDC5.

Anaphase↗

The Cdc14 phosphatase and the FEAR network control meiotic spindle disassembly and chromosome segregation.

During meiosis, DNA replication is followed by two consecutive rounds of chromosome segregation. Cells lacking the protein phosphatase CDC14 or its regulators, SPO12 and SLK19, undergo only a single meiotic division, with some chromosomes segregating reductionally and others equationally. We find that this abnormal chromosome behavior is due to an uncoupling of meiotic events. Anaphase I spindle disassembly is delayed in cdc14-1, slk19Delta, or spo12Delta mutants, but the chromosome segregation cycle continues, so that both meiotic chromosome segregation phases take place on the persisting meiosis I spindle. Our results show that Cdc14, Slk19, and Spo12 are not only required for meiosis I spindle disassembly but also play a pivotal role in establishing two consecutive chromosome segregation phases, a key feature of the meiotic cell cycle.

Anaphase↗

Mitotic exit regulation through distinct domains within the protein kinase Cdc15.

The mitotic exit network (MEN), a Ras-like signaling cascade, promotes the release of the protein phosphatase Cdc14 from the nucleolus and is essential for cells to exit from mitosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We have characterized the functional domains of one of the MEN components, the protein kinase Cdc15, and investigated the role of these domains in mitotic exit. We show that a region adjacent to Cdc15's kinase domain is required for self-association and for binding to spindle pole bodies and that this domain is essential for CDC15 function. Furthermore, we find that overexpression of CDC15 lacking the C-terminal 224 amino acids results in hyperactivation of MEN and premature release of Cdc14 from the nucleolus, suggesting that this domain within Cdc15 functions to inhibit MEN signaling. Our findings indicate that multiple modes of MEN regulation occur through the protein kinase Cdc15.

Binding Sites↗

Control of Lte1 localization by cell polarity determinants and Cdc14.

BACKGROUND: The putative guanine nucleotide exchange factor Lte1 plays an essential role in promoting exit from mitosis at low temperatures. Lte1 is thought to activate a Ras-like signaling cascade, the mitotic exit network (MEN). MEN promotes the release of the protein phosphatase Cdc14 from the nucleolus during anaphase, and this release is a prerequisite for exit from mitosis. Lte1 is present throughout the cell during G1 but is sequestered in the bud during S phase and mitosis by an unknown mechanism. RESULTS: We show that anchorage of Lte1 in the bud requires septins, the cell polarity determinants Cdc42 and Cla4, and Kel1. Lte1 physically associates with Kel1 and requires Kel1 for its localization in the bud, suggesting a role for Kel1 in anchoring Lte1 at the bud cortex. Our data further implicate the PAK-like protein kinase Cla4 in controlling Lte1 phosphorylation and localization. CLA4 is required for Lte1 phosphorylation and bud localization. Furthermore, when overexpressed, CLA4 induces Lte1 phosphorylation and localization to regions of polarized growth. Finally, we show that Cdc14, directly or indirectly, controls Lte1 dephosphorylation and delocalization from the bud during exit from mitosis. CONCLUSION: Restriction of Lte1 to the bud cortex depends on the cortical proteins Cdc42 and Kel1 and the septin ring. Cla4 and Cdc14 promote and demote Lte1 localization at and from the bud cortex, respectively, suggesting not only that the phosphorylation status of Lte1 controls its localization but also indicating that Cla4 and Cdc14 are key regulators of the spatial asymmetry of Lte1.

Actins↗

Spo13 regulates cohesin cleavage.

A key aspect of meiotic chromosome segregation is that cohesin, the protein complex that holds sister chromatids together, dissociates from chromosome arms during meiosis I and from centromeric regions during meiosis II. The budding yeast protein Spo13 plays a key role in preventing centromeric cohesin from being lost during meiosis I. We have determined the molecular basis for the metaphase arrest obtained when SPO13 is overexpressed during the mitotic cell cycle. Overexpression of SPO13 inhibits anaphase onset by at least two mechanisms. First, Spo13 causes a transient delay in degradation of the anaphase inhibitor Pds1. Second, Spo13 inhibits cleavage of the cohesin subunit Scc1/Mcd1 or its meiosis-specific homolog, Rec8, by the separase Esp1. The finding that Spo13 did not prevent cleavage of another Esp1 substrate, Slk19, suggests that overexpression of SPO13 is sufficient to prevent cohesin cleavage by protecting specific substrates from separase activity.

Cell Cycle Proteins↗

Separase, polo kinase, the kinetochore protein Slk19, and Spo12 function in a network that controls Cdc14 localization during early anaphase.

In budding yeast, the phosphatase Cdc14, a key regulator of exit from mitosis, is released from its inhibitor Cfi1/Net1 in the nucleolus during anaphase. A signaling cascade, known as the mitotic exit network (MEN), controls this release. We have identified a regulatory network, the FEAR (Cdc fourteen early anaphase release) network that promotes Cdc14 release from the nucleolus during early anaphase. The FEAR network is comprised of the polo kinase Cdc5, the separase Esp1, the kinetochore-associated protein Slk19, and Spo12. We also show that the FEAR network initiates Cdc14 release from Cfi1/Net1 during early anaphase, and MEN maintains Cdc14 in the released state during late anaphase. We propose that one function of Cdc14 released by the FEAR network is to stimulate MEN activity.

Anaphase↗