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First published online November 9, 2005
doi: 10.1242/10.1242/jcs.02652

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Tum/RacGAP50C provides a critical link between anaphase microtubules and the assembly of the contractile ring in Drosophila melanogaster

¹ ARC Special Research Centre for the Molecular Genetics of Development and Molecular Genetics and Evolution Group, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, GPO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
² Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27705-1000, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: robert.saint{at}anu.edu.au)

Accepted 17 August 2005

A central question in understanding cytokinesis is how the cleavage plane is positioned. Although the positioning signal is likely to be transmitted via the anaphase microtubule array to the cell cortex, exactly how the microtubule array determines the site of contractile ring formation remains unresolved. By analysing tum/RacGAP50C mutant Drosophila embryos we show that cells lacking Tum do not form furrows and fail to localise the key cytokinetic components Pebble (a RhoGEF), Aurora B kinase, Diaphanous, Pav-KLP and Anillin. The GAP activity of Tum is required for cytokinesis: in its absence cytokinesis fails early even though Tum is present on microtubules at the cell equator where the furrow should form. Disruption of the Pebble-interacting domain leaves Tum localised to the cell equator on cortically associated microtubules, again with no evidence of furrowing. These data support a model in which Tum/RacGAP, via its interaction with Pbl, provides a critical link between the anaphase microtubule spindle and cytokinetic furrow formation in Drosophila cells.

Key words: Cytokinesis, RacGAP, Drosophila, Rho-GTPase signalling, Centralspindlin, GTPase-activating protein

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