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Eukaryotic Cell, October 2008, p. 1712-1723, Vol. 7, No. 10
1535-9778/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00393-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Abnormal Micronuclear Telomeres Lead to an Unusual Cell Cycle Checkpoint and Defects in Tetrahymena Oral Morphogenesis{triangledown}

Karen E. Kirk,1* Christina Christ,1 Jennifer M. McGuire,1 Arun G. Paul,1 Mithaq Vahedi,1 Kathleen R. Stuart,2 and Eric S. Cole2

Department of Biology, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois 60045,1 Department of Biology, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota 550572

Received 26 October 2007/ Accepted 16 April 2008

Telomere mutants have been well studied with respect to telomerase and the role of telomere binding proteins, but they have not been used to explore how a downstream morphogenic event is related to the mutated telomeric DNA. We report that alterations at the telomeres can have profound consequences on organellar morphogenesis. Specifically, a telomerase RNA mutation termed ter1-43AA results in the loss of germ line micronuclear telomeres in the binucleate protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila. These cells also display a micronuclear mitotic arrest, characterized by an extreme delay in anaphase with an elongated, condensed chromatin and a mitotic spindle apparatus. This anaphase defect suggests telomere fusions and consequently a spindle rather than a DNA damage checkpoint. Most surprisingly, these mutants exhibit unique, dramatic defects in the formation of the cell's oral apparatus. We suggest that micronuclear telomere loss leads to a "dynamic pause" in the program of cortical development, which may reveal an unusual cell cycle checkpoint.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biology, Lake Forest College, 555 N. Sheridan Rd., Lake Forest, IL 60045. Phone: (847) 735-6044. Fax: (847) 735-6194. E-mail: kirk{at}lakeforest.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 9 May 2008.

Eukaryotic Cell, October 2008, p. 1712-1723, Vol. 7, No. 10
1535-9778/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00393-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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