The fission yeast TACC protein Mia1p stabilizes microtubule arrays by length-independent crosslinking

Abstract

Microtubule (MT) arrays are mechanistic effectors of polarity specification and cell division. Linear bundles in which MTs are bridged laterally are dynamically assembled in systems ranging from differentiated metazoan cells to fungi in a process that remains poorly understood. Often, bundled MTs slide with respect to each other via molecular motors. In interphase cells of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, MT nucleation frequently occurs at preexisting arrays. As the nascent MT lengthens, stable antiparallel MT overlaps are thought to form through competition between motion of the minus-end-directed kinesin Klp2p and braking force exerted by the accumulating lateral crosslinker Ase1p. Here we show that Mia1p/Alp7p, a transforming acidic coiled-coil (TACC) protein, functions as a length-independent MT crosslinker. In cells lacking Mia1p MT-bundling activity, linear arrays frequently disassemble, accompanied by a marked increase in Ase1p off rate and erratic motion of sliding MTs. We propose that the combined action of lateral length-dependent (Ase1p) and terminal length-independent (Mia1p) crosslinkers is crucial for robust assembly and stability of linear MT arrays. Such use of qualitatively distinct crosslinking mechanisms in tandem may point to a general design principle in the engineering of stable cytoskeletal assemblies.