--- _id: '1244' abstract: - lang: eng text: Cell polarity refers to a functional spatial organization of proteins that is crucial for the control of essential cellular processes such as growth and division. To establish polarity, cells rely on elaborate regulation networks that control the distribution of proteins at the cell membrane. In fission yeast cells, a microtubule-dependent network has been identified that polarizes the distribution of signaling proteins that restricts growth to cell ends and targets the cytokinetic machinery to the middle of the cell. Although many molecular components have been shown to play a role in this network, it remains unknown which molecular functionalities are minimally required to establish a polarized protein distribution in this system. Here we show that a membrane-binding protein fragment, which distributes homogeneously in wild-type fission yeast cells, can be made to concentrate at cell ends by attaching it to a cytoplasmic microtubule end-binding protein. This concentration results in a polarized pattern of chimera proteins with a spatial extension that is very reminiscent of natural polarity patterns in fission yeast. However, chimera levels fluctuate in response to microtubule dynamics, and disruption of microtubules leads to disappearance of the pattern. Numerical simulations confirm that the combined functionality of membrane anchoring and microtubule tip affinity is in principle sufficient to create polarized patterns. Our chimera protein may thus represent a simple molecular functionality that is able to polarize the membrane, onto which additional layers of molecular complexity may be built to provide the temporal robustness that is typical of natural polarity patterns. acknowledgement: "We thank Sophie Martin, Ken Sawin, Stephen Huisman,\r\nand Damian Brunner for strains; Julianne\r\nTeapal, Marcel Janson, Sergio Rincon,\r\nand Phong Tran for technical assistance; Andrew Mugler and Bela Mulder for\r\ndiscussions; and Sander Tans, Phong Tran,\r\nand Anne Paoletti for critical reading\r\nof the manuscript. This work is part of the research program of the\r\n“\r\nStichting\r\nvoor Fundamenteel Onderzoek de Materie,\r\n”\r\nwhich is financially supported by\r\nthe\r\n“\r\nNederlandse organisatie voor Wete\r\nnschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO).\r\n”" author: - first_name: Pierre full_name: Recouvreux, Pierre last_name: Recouvreux - first_name: Thomas R full_name: Sokolowski, Thomas R id: 3E999752-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Sokolowski orcid: 0000-0002-1287-3779 - first_name: Aristea full_name: Grammoustianou, Aristea last_name: Grammoustianou - first_name: Pieter full_name: Tenwolde, Pieter last_name: Tenwolde - first_name: Marileen full_name: Dogterom, Marileen last_name: Dogterom citation: ama: Recouvreux P, Sokolowski TR, Grammoustianou A, Tenwolde P, Dogterom M. Chimera proteins with affinity for membranes and microtubule tips polarize in the membrane of fission yeast cells. PNAS. 2016;113(7):1811-1816. doi:10.1073/pnas.1419248113 apa: Recouvreux, P., Sokolowski, T. R., Grammoustianou, A., Tenwolde, P., & Dogterom, M. (2016). Chimera proteins with affinity for membranes and microtubule tips polarize in the membrane of fission yeast cells. PNAS. National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419248113 chicago: Recouvreux, Pierre, Thomas R Sokolowski, Aristea Grammoustianou, Pieter Tenwolde, and Marileen Dogterom. “Chimera Proteins with Affinity for Membranes and Microtubule Tips Polarize in the Membrane of Fission Yeast Cells.” PNAS. National Academy of Sciences, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419248113. ieee: P. Recouvreux, T. R. Sokolowski, A. Grammoustianou, P. Tenwolde, and M. Dogterom, “Chimera proteins with affinity for membranes and microtubule tips polarize in the membrane of fission yeast cells,” PNAS, vol. 113, no. 7. National Academy of Sciences, pp. 1811–1816, 2016. ista: Recouvreux P, Sokolowski TR, Grammoustianou A, Tenwolde P, Dogterom M. 2016. Chimera proteins with affinity for membranes and microtubule tips polarize in the membrane of fission yeast cells. PNAS. 113(7), 1811–1816. mla: Recouvreux, Pierre, et al. “Chimera Proteins with Affinity for Membranes and Microtubule Tips Polarize in the Membrane of Fission Yeast Cells.” PNAS, vol. 113, no. 7, National Academy of Sciences, 2016, pp. 1811–16, doi:10.1073/pnas.1419248113. short: P. Recouvreux, T.R. Sokolowski, A. Grammoustianou, P. Tenwolde, M. Dogterom, PNAS 113 (2016) 1811–1816. date_created: 2018-12-11T11:50:55Z date_published: 2016-02-16T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2021-01-12T06:49:21Z day: '16' department: - _id: GaTk doi: 10.1073/pnas.1419248113 intvolume: ' 113' issue: '7' language: - iso: eng main_file_link: - open_access: '1' url: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4763754/ month: '02' oa: 1 oa_version: Submitted Version page: 1811 - 1816 publication: PNAS publication_status: published publisher: National Academy of Sciences publist_id: '6085' quality_controlled: '1' scopus_import: 1 status: public title: Chimera proteins with affinity for membranes and microtubule tips polarize in the membrane of fission yeast cells type: journal_article user_id: 3E5EF7F0-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 volume: 113 year: '2016' ...