IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v422y2003i6929d10.1038_nature01486.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Par complex directs asymmetric cell division by phosphorylating the cytoskeletal protein Lgl

Author

Listed:
  • Jörg Betschinger

    (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology)

  • Karl Mechtler

    (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology)

  • Juergen A. Knoblich

    (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology)

Abstract

To generate different cell types, some cells can segregate protein determinants into one of their two daughter cells during mitosis. In Drosophila neuroblasts, the Par protein complex localizes apically1,2,3,4,5 and directs localization of the cell fate determinants Prospero6,7,8 and Numb9 and the adaptor proteins Miranda10,11 and Pon12 to the basal cell cortex, to ensure their segregation into the basal daughter cell. The Par protein complex has a conserved function in establishing cell polarity13 but how it directs proteins to the opposite side is unknown. We show here that a principal function of this complex is to phosphorylate the cytoskeletal protein Lethal (2) giant larvae (Lgl; also known as L(2)gl). Phosphorylation by Drosophila atypical protein kinase C (aPKC), a member of the Par protein complex, releases Lgl from its association with membranes and the actin cytoskeleton. Genetic and biochemical experiments show that Lgl phosphorylation prevents the localization of cell fate determinants to the apical cell cortex. Lgl promotes cortical localization of Miranda14,15, and we propose that phosphorylation of Lgl by aPKC at the apical neuroblast cortex restricts Lgl activity and Miranda localization to the opposite, basal side of the cell.

Suggested Citation

  • Jörg Betschinger & Karl Mechtler & Juergen A. Knoblich, 2003. "The Par complex directs asymmetric cell division by phosphorylating the cytoskeletal protein Lgl," Nature, Nature, vol. 422(6929), pages 326-330, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:422:y:2003:i:6929:d:10.1038_nature01486
    DOI: 10.1038/nature01486
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature01486
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/nature01486?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Egger, H. & Fellner, K. & Pietschmann, J.-F. & Tang, B.Q., 2018. "Analysis and numerical solution of coupled volume-surface reaction-diffusion systems with application to cell biology," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 336(C), pages 351-367.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:422:y:2003:i:6929:d:10.1038_nature01486. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.