Abstract
Little is known about the molecular basis of organelle size control in eukaryotes. Cells of the biflagellate alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii actively maintain their flagella at a precise length. Chlamydomonas mutants that lose control of flagellar length have been isolated and used to demonstrate that a dynamic process keeps flagella at an appropriate length [1, 2]. To date, none of the proteins required for flagellar length control have been identified in any eukaryotic organism. Here, we show that a novel MAP kinase is crucial to enforcing wild-type flagellar length in C. reinhardtii. Null mutants of LF4 [2], a gene encoding a protein with extensive amino acid sequence identity to a mammalian MAP kinase of unknown function, MOK [3], are unable to regulate the length of their flagella. The LF4 protein (LF4p) is localized to the flagella, and in vitro enzyme assays confirm that the protein is a MAP kinase. The long-flagella phenotype of If4 cells is rescued by transformation with the cloned LF4 gene. The demonstration that a novel MAP kinase helps enforce flagellar length control indicates that a previously unidentified signal transduction pathway controls organelle size in C. reinhardtii.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1145-1149 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Current Biology |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jul 2003 |
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A novel MAP kinase regulates flagellar length in Chlamydomonas. / Berman, Steven A.; Wilson, Nedra F.; Haas, Nancy A.; Lefebvre, Paul A.
In: Current Biology, Vol. 13, No. 13, 01.07.2003, p. 1145-1149.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - A novel MAP kinase regulates flagellar length in Chlamydomonas
AU - Berman, Steven A.
AU - Wilson, Nedra F.
AU - Haas, Nancy A.
AU - Lefebvre, Paul A.
PY - 2003/7/1
Y1 - 2003/7/1
N2 - Little is known about the molecular basis of organelle size control in eukaryotes. Cells of the biflagellate alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii actively maintain their flagella at a precise length. Chlamydomonas mutants that lose control of flagellar length have been isolated and used to demonstrate that a dynamic process keeps flagella at an appropriate length [1, 2]. To date, none of the proteins required for flagellar length control have been identified in any eukaryotic organism. Here, we show that a novel MAP kinase is crucial to enforcing wild-type flagellar length in C. reinhardtii. Null mutants of LF4 [2], a gene encoding a protein with extensive amino acid sequence identity to a mammalian MAP kinase of unknown function, MOK [3], are unable to regulate the length of their flagella. The LF4 protein (LF4p) is localized to the flagella, and in vitro enzyme assays confirm that the protein is a MAP kinase. The long-flagella phenotype of If4 cells is rescued by transformation with the cloned LF4 gene. The demonstration that a novel MAP kinase helps enforce flagellar length control indicates that a previously unidentified signal transduction pathway controls organelle size in C. reinhardtii.
AB - Little is known about the molecular basis of organelle size control in eukaryotes. Cells of the biflagellate alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii actively maintain their flagella at a precise length. Chlamydomonas mutants that lose control of flagellar length have been isolated and used to demonstrate that a dynamic process keeps flagella at an appropriate length [1, 2]. To date, none of the proteins required for flagellar length control have been identified in any eukaryotic organism. Here, we show that a novel MAP kinase is crucial to enforcing wild-type flagellar length in C. reinhardtii. Null mutants of LF4 [2], a gene encoding a protein with extensive amino acid sequence identity to a mammalian MAP kinase of unknown function, MOK [3], are unable to regulate the length of their flagella. The LF4 protein (LF4p) is localized to the flagella, and in vitro enzyme assays confirm that the protein is a MAP kinase. The long-flagella phenotype of If4 cells is rescued by transformation with the cloned LF4 gene. The demonstration that a novel MAP kinase helps enforce flagellar length control indicates that a previously unidentified signal transduction pathway controls organelle size in C. reinhardtii.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0038158086&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00415-9
DO - 10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00415-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 12842015
AN - SCOPUS:0038158086
VL - 13
SP - 1145
EP - 1149
JO - Current Biology
JF - Current Biology
SN - 0960-9822
IS - 13
ER -