The DNA structure checkpoint protein Rad26ATRIP is also required for an interphase microtubule damage response. This checkpoint delays spindle pole body separation and entry into mitosis following treatment of cells with microtubule poisons. This checkpoint requires cytoplasmic Rad26ATRIP, which is compromised by the rad26:4A allele that inhibits cytoplasmic accum...

Interphase centromeres are crucial domains for the proper assembly of kinetochores at the onset of mitosis. However, it is not known whether the centromere structure is under tight control during interphase. This study uses the peculiar property of the infected cell protein 0 of herpes simplex virus type 1 to induce centromeric structural damage, revealing a novel cell response triggered by cen...

Chromatin exhibits increased mobility on DNA damage, but the biophysical basis for this behavior remains unknown. To explore the mechanisms that drive DNA damage-induced chromosome mobility, we use single-particle tracking of tagged chromosomal loci during interphase in live yeast cells together with polymer models of chromatin chains. Telomeres become mobilized from sites on the nuclear envelo...

Proper microtubule organization is essential for cellular processes such as organelle positioning during interphase and spindle formation during mitosis. The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe presents a good model for understanding microtubule organization. We identify fission yeast ase1p, a member of the conserved ASE1/PRC1/MAP65 family of microtubule bundling proteins, which functions i...

Microtubules assume a variety of structures throughout the different stages of the cell cycle. Ensuring the correct assembly of such structures is essential to guarantee cell division. During mitosis, it is well established that the spindle assembly checkpoint monitors the correct attachment of sister chromatids to the mitotic spindle. However, the role that microtubule cytoskeleton integrity p...

For mammalian somatic cells, the importance of microtubule cytoskeleton integrity during interphase cell-cycle progression is uncertain. The loss, suppression, or stabilization of the microtubule cytoskeleton has been widely reported to cause a G1 arrest in a variable, and often high, proportion of cell populations, suggesting the existence of a "microtubule damage," "microtubule integrity," or...

Background The cytotoxic effects of microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs) are often attributed to targeted effects on mitotic cells. In clinical practice, MTAs are combined with DNA-damaging agents such as ionizing radiation (IR) with the rationale that mitotic cells are highly sensitive to DNA damage. In contrast, recent studies suggest that MTAs synergize with IR by interfering with the traffic...

Microtubules are essential for a variety of fundamental cellular processes such as organelle positioning and control of cell shape. Schizosaccharomyces pombe is an ideal organism for studying the function and organization of microtubules into bundles in interphase cells. Using light microscopy and electron tomography we analyzed the bundle organization of interphase microtubules in S. pombe. We...

When vertebrate somatic cells are selectively irradiated in the nucleus during late prophase (<30 min before nuclear envelope breakdown) they progress normally through mitosis even if they contain broken chromosomes. However, if early prophase nuclei are similarly irradiated, chromosome condensation is reversed and the cells return to interphase. Thus, the G2 checkpoint that prevents entry into...