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The Caenorhabditis elegans cell‐cycle regulator ZYG‐11 defines a conserved family of CUL‐2 complex components
Author(s) -
Vasudevan Srividya,
Starostitalia G,
Kipreos Edward T
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.1038/sj.embor.7400895
Subject(s) - cullin , biology , caenorhabditis elegans , microbiology and biotechnology , nedd8 , genetics , regulator , ubiquitin , protein subunit , ubiquitin protein ligases , ubiquitin ligase , gene
The cullin CUL‐2 is a crucial component of a subclass of multisubunit cullin‐RING ubiquitin‐ligases. The specificity of CUL‐2‐based complexes is provided by variable substrate‐recognition subunits that bind to specific substrates. In Caenorhabditis elegans , CUL‐2 regulates several key processes in cell division and embryonic development, including meiotic progression, anterior–posterior polarity and mitotic chromatin condensation. However, the substrate recognition subunits that work in these CUL‐2‐dependent processes were unknown. Here, we present evidence that ZYG‐11 is the substrate‐recognition subunit for a CUL‐2‐based complex that regulates these functions. We show that ZYG‐11 interacts with CUL‐2 in vivo and binds to the complex adaptor protein Elongin C using a nematode variant of the VHL‐box motif. We show that the ZYG11 gene family encompasses two main branches in metazoa, and provide evidence that members of the extended ZYG11 family in nematodes and humans are conserved components of CUL2‐based ubiquitin‐ligases.