Many cytokinetic actomyosin ring components undergo dynamic turnover, but its function is unclear. Chew et al. show that continuous actin polymerization ensures crucial F-actin homeostasis during ring contraction, without which ring proteins organize into noncontractile clusters.

SummaryCytokinesis depends on a contractile actomyosin ring in many eukaryotes [1, 2, 3]. Myosin II is a key component of the actomyosin ring, although whether it functions as a motor or as an actin cross-linker to exert its essential role is disputed [1, 4, 5]. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the myo2-E1 mutation affects the upper 50 kDa sub-domain of the myosin II heavy chain, and cells carrying this lethal mutation are defective in actomyosin ring assembly at the non-permissive temperature [6, 7]. myo2-E1 also affects actomyosin ring contraction when rings isolated from permissive temperature-grown cells are incubated with ATP [8]. Here we report isolation of a compensatory suppressor mutation in the lower 50 kDa sub-domain (myo2-E1-Sup1) that reverses the inability of myo2-E1 to form colonies at the restrictive temperature. myo2-E1-Sup1 is capable of assembling normal actomyosin rings, although rings isolated from myo2-E1-Sup1 are defective in ATP-dependent contraction in vitro. Furthermore, the product of myo2-E1-Sup1 does not translocate actin filaments in motility assays in vitro. Superimposition of myo2-E1 and myo2-E1-Sup1 on available rigor and blebbistatin-bound myosin II structures suggests that myo2-E1-Sup1 may represent a novel actin translocation-defective allele. Actomyosin ring contraction and viability of myo2-E1-Sup1 cells depend on the late cytokinetic S. pombe myosin II isoform, Myp2p, a non-essential protein that is normally dispensable for actomyosin ring assembly and contraction. Our work reveals that Myo2p may function in two different and essential modes during cytokinesis: a motor activity-independent form that can promote actomyosin ring assembly and a motor activity-dependent form that supports ring contraction.

Actins are major eukaryotic cytoskeletal proteins, and they are involved in many important cell functions, including cell division, cell polarity, wound healing and muscle contraction. Despite obvious drawbacks, muscle actin, which is easily purified, is used extensively for biochemical studies of the non-muscle actin cytoskeleton. Here, we report a rapid and cost-effective method to purify heterologous actins expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris. Actin is expressed as a fusion with the actin-binding protein thymosin β4 and purified by means of an affinity tag introduced in the fusion. Following cleavage of thymosin β4 and the affinity tag, highly purified functional full-length actin is liberated. We purify actins from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and the β- and γ-isoforms of human actin. We also report a modification of the method that facilitates expression and purification of arginylated actin, a form of actin thought to regulate dendritic actin networks in mammalian cells. The methods we describe can be performed in all laboratories equipped for molecular biology, and should greatly facilitate biochemical and cell biological studies of the actin cytoskeleton.

Palani et al. reveal a new mechanism by which the F-actin binding protein tropomyosin is regulated. They find that phosphorylation of tropomyosin reduces its affinity for F-actin, allowing the competing Adf1 to bind and sever actin filaments.

Many eukaryotes assemble a ring-shaped actomyosin network that contracts to drive cytokinesis. Unlike actomyosin in sarcomeres, which cycles through contraction and relaxation, the cytokinetic ring disassembles during contraction through an unknown mechanism. Here we find in Schizosaccharomyces japonicus and Schizosaccharomyces pombe that, during actomyosin ring contraction, actin filaments associated with actomyosin rings are expelled as micron-scale bundles containing multiple actomyosin ring proteins. Using functional isolated actomyosin rings we show that expulsion of actin bundles does not require continuous presence of cytoplasm. Strikingly, mechanical compression of actomyosin rings results in expulsion of bundles predominantly at regions of high curvature. Our work unprecedentedly reveals that the increased curvature of the ring itself promotes its disassembly. It is likely that such a curvature-induced mechanism may operate in disassembly of other contractile networks.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.21383.001