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Cytokinesis is driven in part by the constriction of a ring of actin filaments, myosin motors and other proteins. In fission yeast, three myosins contribute to cytokinesis including a Myosin-V Myo51. As Myosin-Vs typically carry cargo along actin filaments, the role of Myo51 in cytokinesis remains unclear. The previous work suggests that Myo51 may crosslink actin filaments. We hypothesized that if Myo51 crosslinks actin filaments, cells carrying double deletions of ain1, which encodes the crosslinker alpha-actinin, and myo51 (∆ain1 ∆myo51 cells) will exhibit more severe cytokinesis phenotypes than cells with the single ∆ain1 mutation. Contrary to our expectations, we found that the loss of Myo51 in ∆ain1 cells partially rescued the severity of the node clumping phenotype measured in ∆ain1 cells. Furthermore, we describe a normal process of contractile ring “shedding”, the appearance of fragments of ring material extending away from the contractile ring along the ingressing septum that occurs in the second half of constriction. We measured that ∆ain1 ∆myo51 cells exhibit premature and exaggerated shedding. Our work suggests that Myo51 is not a simple actin filament crosslinker. Instead, a role in effective node motion better recapitulates its function during ring assembly and disassembly.

Lignin conversion to higher value products is essential to the economic viability of lignocellulosic biorefineries. Here, the authors demonstrate the bioconversion of alkali pretreated lignin to itaconic acid by dynamic two stage fermentation using a signal-amplified nitrogen-limitation biosensor.

Actin–microtubule interactions are critical for cell division, yet how these networks of polymers mutually influence their mechanical properties and functions in live cells remains unknown. In fission yeast, the post-anaphase array (PAA) of microtubules assembles in the plane of the contractile ring, and its assembly relies on the Myp2p-dependent recruitment of Mto1p, a component of equatorial microtubule organizing centers (eMTOCs). The general organization of this array of microtubules and the impact on their physical attachment to the contractile ring remain unclear. We found that Myp2p facilitates the recruitment of Mto1p to the inner face of the contractile ring, where the eMTOCs polymerize microtubules without their direct interaction. The PAA microtubules form a dynamic polygon of Ase1p crosslinked microtubules inside the contractile ring. The specific loss of PAA microtubules affects the mechanical properties of the contractile ring of actin by lowering its stiffness. This change in the mechanical properties of the ring has no measurable impact on cytokinesis or on the anchoring of the ring. Our work proposes that the PAA microtubules exploit the contractile ring for their assembly and function during cell division, while the contractile ring may receive no benefit from these interactions.

Abstract Background Efficient conversion of plant biomass to commodity chemicals is an important challenge that needs to be solved to enable a sustainable bioeconomy. Deconstruction of biomass to sugars and lignin yields a wide variety of low molecular weight carbon substrates that need to be funneled to product. Pseudomonas putida KT2440 has emerged as a potential platform for bioconversion of lignin and the other components of plant biomass. However, P. putida is unable to natively utilize several of the common sugars in hydrolysate streams, including galactose. Results In this work, we integrated a De Ley–Doudoroff catabolic pathway for galactose catabolism into the chromosome of P. putida KT2440, using genes from several different organisms. We found that the galactonate catabolic pathway alone (DgoKAD) supported slow growth of P. putida on galactose. Further integration of genes to convert galactose to galactonate and to optimize the transporter expression level resulted in a growth rate of 0.371 h−1. Additionally, the best-performing strain was demonstrated to co-utilize galactose with glucose. Conclusions We have engineered P. putida to catabolize galactose, which will allow future engineered strains to convert more plant biomass carbon to products of interest. Further, by demonstrating co-utilization of glucose and galactose, continuous bioconversion processes for mixed sugar streams are now possible.