This project will examine the cellular events that occur at the end of meiosis, to better understand how these events are coordinated and regulated. Meiosis is a specialized cell division used to produce haploid cells from diploid cells. Although some aspects of meiosis are regulated as in mitotic cells, some parts of meiosis are regulated using distinct mechanisms. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, meiosis occurs during sporulation, where a diploid mother cell will remodel its interior through meiosis and spore morphogenesis to create four haploid spores. As cells prepare to complete meiosis II, spindle disassembly and cytokinesis must be coordinated. In the budding yeast, meiotic cytokinesis takes place through the closure of the prospore membrane, a membrane that is synthesized during sporulation and grows to surround the newly formed 1N DNA products of meiosis. Meiosis II spindle disassembly and timely prospore membrane closure are regulated by Cdc15 (a Hippo-like kinase) acting upstream of Sps1 (a STE20-family GCKIII kinase). The regulation of exit from meiosis II is distinct from the regulation of exit from mitosis. This project will examine how cytokinesis and spindle disassembly are coordinated in meiosis II, and will also identify additional component important for regulating the exit of meiosis II. The experiments in this proposal will use yeast molecular genetics, biochemistry, and imaging studies to provide a more detailed understanding of meiosis II spindle disassembly, how this is coordinated with timely prospore membrane closure, and the molecular targets used to regulate these processes. The work in the proposal will also begin to define other components involved in regulating exit of meiosis II, and will provide a better understanding of the the signaling pathway using Cdc15 and Sps1. The knowledge gained from this project will contribute to the fundamental understanding of meiotic cell cycle regulation and how cellular processes are coordinated. These studies will also contribute to our knowledge of fungal biology, which is important because fungi are commensal organisms (as part of the fungal microbiome) and can also become pathogenic.

Public Health Relevance

The formation of gametes is important for all sexually reproducing species. This project will contribute to the fundamental knowledge about how gametes are formed, how the meiotic cell cycle is regulated, and how the timely completion of cellular events are coordinated. The knowledge gained from this study might also provide information into fungal-specific regulatory mechanisms that may some day be useful in developing tools to combat pathogenic yeast species.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) (R15)
Project #
2R15GM086805-04
Application #
10114442
Study Section
Nuclear and Cytoplasmic Structure/Function and Dynamics Study Section (NCSD)
Program Officer
Xu, Jianhua
Project Start
2009-09-21
Project End
2023-08-31
Budget Start
2020-09-09
Budget End
2023-08-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Massachusetts Boston
Department
Biology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
808008122
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02125
Paulissen, Scott M; Slubowski, Christian J; Roesner, Joseph M et al. (2016) Timely Closure of the Prospore Membrane Requires SPS1 and SPO77 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 203:1203-16
Paulissen, Scott M; Huang, Linda S (2016) Efficient Sporulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a 96 Multiwell Format. J Vis Exp :
Slubowski, Christian J; Funk, Alyssa D; Roesner, Joseph M et al. (2015) Plasmids for C-terminal tagging in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that contain improved GFP proteins, Envy and Ivy. Yeast 32:379-87
Parodi, Emily M; Roesner, Joseph M; Huang, Linda S (2015) SPO73 and SPO71 Function Cooperatively in Prospore Membrane Elongation During Sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. PLoS One 10:e0143571
Parodi, Emily M; Baker, Crystal S; Tetzlaff, Cayla et al. (2012) SPO71 mediates prospore membrane size and maturation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Eukaryot Cell 11:1191-200