The Drosophila microtubule-associated protein mars stabilizes mitotic spindles by crosslinking microtubules through its N-terminal region.

Correct segregation of genetic material relies on proper assembly and maintenance of the mitotic spindle. How the highly dynamic microtubules (MTs) are maintained in stable mitotic spindles is a key question to be answered. Motor and non-motor microtubule associated proteins (MAPs) have been reporte...

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Main Authors: Gang Zhang, Hamze Beati, Jakob Nilsson, Andreas Wodarz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3617137?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-2a257b4ad70e469392394b53e3339eb42020-11-25T02:15:31ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0184e6059610.1371/journal.pone.0060596The Drosophila microtubule-associated protein mars stabilizes mitotic spindles by crosslinking microtubules through its N-terminal region.Gang ZhangHamze BeatiJakob NilssonAndreas WodarzCorrect segregation of genetic material relies on proper assembly and maintenance of the mitotic spindle. How the highly dynamic microtubules (MTs) are maintained in stable mitotic spindles is a key question to be answered. Motor and non-motor microtubule associated proteins (MAPs) have been reported to stabilize the dynamic spindle through crosslinking adjacent MTs. Mars, a novel MAP, is essential for the early development of Drosophila embryos. Previous studies showed that Mars is required for maintaining an intact mitotic spindle but did not provide a molecular mechanism for this function. Here we show that Mars is able to stabilize the mitotic spindle in vivo. Both in vivo and in vitro data reveal that the N-terminal region of Mars functions in the stabilization of the mitotic spindle by crosslinking adjacent MTs.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3617137?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Gang Zhang
Hamze Beati
Jakob Nilsson
Andreas Wodarz
spellingShingle Gang Zhang
Hamze Beati
Jakob Nilsson
Andreas Wodarz
The Drosophila microtubule-associated protein mars stabilizes mitotic spindles by crosslinking microtubules through its N-terminal region.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Gang Zhang
Hamze Beati
Jakob Nilsson
Andreas Wodarz
author_sort Gang Zhang
title The Drosophila microtubule-associated protein mars stabilizes mitotic spindles by crosslinking microtubules through its N-terminal region.
title_short The Drosophila microtubule-associated protein mars stabilizes mitotic spindles by crosslinking microtubules through its N-terminal region.
title_full The Drosophila microtubule-associated protein mars stabilizes mitotic spindles by crosslinking microtubules through its N-terminal region.
title_fullStr The Drosophila microtubule-associated protein mars stabilizes mitotic spindles by crosslinking microtubules through its N-terminal region.
title_full_unstemmed The Drosophila microtubule-associated protein mars stabilizes mitotic spindles by crosslinking microtubules through its N-terminal region.
title_sort drosophila microtubule-associated protein mars stabilizes mitotic spindles by crosslinking microtubules through its n-terminal region.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2013-01-01
description Correct segregation of genetic material relies on proper assembly and maintenance of the mitotic spindle. How the highly dynamic microtubules (MTs) are maintained in stable mitotic spindles is a key question to be answered. Motor and non-motor microtubule associated proteins (MAPs) have been reported to stabilize the dynamic spindle through crosslinking adjacent MTs. Mars, a novel MAP, is essential for the early development of Drosophila embryos. Previous studies showed that Mars is required for maintaining an intact mitotic spindle but did not provide a molecular mechanism for this function. Here we show that Mars is able to stabilize the mitotic spindle in vivo. Both in vivo and in vitro data reveal that the N-terminal region of Mars functions in the stabilization of the mitotic spindle by crosslinking adjacent MTs.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3617137?pdf=render
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