Migration of nuclei within cells occurs in most, if not all, eukaryoticorganisms. Nuclear migration is required for the fusion of pronuclei during fertilization and for embryological development. There is also evidence that it may be involved in brain development and metastasis of cancer cells. Despite the fundamental importance of nuclear migration, almost nothing is known about its regulation or mechanics. We propose to study nuclear migration by characterizing the nudH gene of Aspergillus nidulans. Temperature sensitive mutations in this gene inhibit nuclear migration. We will 1) clone the nudH gene by complementation of its temperature sensitivity, 2) sequence the gene, 3) analyze the function of the nudF gene product, and 4) identify and characterize genes whose products interact with the NUDF protein.
