Polo-like kinase phosphorylation determines Caenorhabditis elegans centrosome 
size and density by biasing SPD-5 toward an assembly-competent conformation

Wueseke, Oliver; Zwicker, David; Schwager, Anne; Wong, Yao Liang; Oegema, Karen; Jülicher, Frank; Hyman, Anthony A.; Woodruff, Jeffrey B.

doi:10.1242/bio.020990

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Polo-like kinase phosphorylation determines Caenorhabditis elegans centrosome size and density by biasing SPD-5 toward an assembly-competent conformation

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Jülicher, Frank
Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Max Planck Society;

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http://bio.biologists.org/content/5/10/1431
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Citation

Wueseke, O., Zwicker, D., Schwager, A., Wong, Y. L., Oegema, K., Jülicher, F., et al. (2016). Polo-like kinase phosphorylation determines Caenorhabditis elegans centrosome size and density by biasing SPD-5 toward an assembly-competent conformation. Biology Open, 5(10), 1431-1440. doi:10.1242/bio.020990.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-002C-3E97-0

Abstract

Centrosomes are major microtubule-organizing centers composed of centrioles surrounded by an extensive proteinacious layer called the pericentriolar material (PCM). In Caenorhabditis elegans embryos, the mitotic PCM expands by Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK-1) phosphorylation-accelerated assembly of SPD-5 molecules into supramolecular scaffolds. However, how PLK-1 phosphorylation regulates SPD-5 assembly is not known. We found that a mutant version of SPD-5 that is insensitive to PLK-1 phosphorylation (SPD-5(4A)) could localize to PCM but was unable to rescue the reduction in PCM size and density when wild-type SPD-5 levels were decreased. In vitro, purified SPD-54A self-assembled into functional supramolecular scaffolds over long time scales, suggesting that phosphorylation only controls the rate of SPD-5 scaffold assembly. Furthermore, the SPD-5 scaffold, once assembled, remained intact and supported microtubule nucleation in the absence of PLK-1 activity in vivo. We conclude that PLK-1 is required for rapid assembly of the PCM scaffold but not for scaffold maintenance or function. Based on this idea, we developed a theoretical model that adequately predicted PCM growth rates in different mutant conditions in vivo. We propose that PLK-1 phosphorylation-dependent conversion of SPD-5 into an assembly-competent form underlies PCM formation in vivo and that the rate of this conversion determines final PCM size and density.