MEL-28 Is Downstream of the Ran Cycle and Is Required for Nuclear-Envelope Function and Chromatin Maintenance

Anita G. Fernandez, Fabio Piano

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Early embryonic development depends on the faithful execution of basic cell biological processes whose coordination remains largely unknown. With a global network analysis, we found MEL-28 to be associated with two types of complexes, one implicated in nuclear-envelope function and the other in chromatin organization [1]. Here, we show that MEL-28, a protein that shuttles between the nucleus and the kinetochore during the cell cycle, is required for the structural and functional integrity of the nuclear envelope. In addition, mel-28(RNAi) embryos exhibit defects in chromosome condensation, pronuclear migration, kinetochore assembly, and spindle assembly. This combination of mel-28(RNAi) phenotypes resemble those caused by depleting members of the Ran cycle in C. elegans [2], a conserved cellular signaling pathway that is required for mitotic spindle assembly, nuclear-envelope reformation after mitosis, and nucleocytoplasmic exchange (reviewed in [3-8]). Although MEL-28 localization to the nuclear periphery is not dependent on nuclear pore components, it is dependent on RAN-1 and other key components of the Ran cycle. Thus, MEL-28 is downstream of the Ran cycle and is required for both proper nuclear-envelope function and chromatin maintenance.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1757-1763
Number of pages7
JournalCurrent Biology
Volume16
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 5 2006

Keywords

  • CELLBIO

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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