Biopolis Dresden Imaging Platform

Kinesin-8 motors improve nuclear centering by promoting microtubule catastrophe.

Glunčić M, Maghelli N, Krull A, Krstić V, Ramunno-Johnson D, Pavin N, Tolić IM

In fission yeast, microtubules push against the cell edge, thereby positioning the nucleus in the cell center. Kinesin-8 motors regulate microtubule catastrophe; however, their role in nuclear positioning is not known. Here we develop a physical model that describes how kinesin-8 motors affect nuclear centering by promoting a microtubule catastrophe. Our model predicts the improved centering of the nucleus in the presence of motors, which we confirmed experimentally in living cells. The model also predicts a characteristic time for the recentering of a displaced nucleus, which is supported by our experiments where we displaced the nucleus using optical tweezers.

Fig.3 taken from Glun?i? et al, 2015.
  • Phys. Rev. Lett. 2015 Feb 20;114(7):078103
  • 2015
  • Biophysics
  • 25763975
  • PubMed

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