Nuclear envelope organization in Dictyostelium discoideum

The nuclear envelope consists of the outer and the inner nuclear membrane, the nuclear lamina and the nuclear pore complexes, which regulate nuclear import and export. The major constituent of the nuclear lamina of Dictyostelium is the lamin NE81. It can form filaments like B-type lamins and it interacts with Sun1, as well as with the LEM/HeH-family protein Src1. Sun1 and Src1 are nuclear envelope transmembrane proteins involved in the centrosome-nucleus connection and nuclear envelope stability at the nucleolar regions, respectively. In conjunction with a KASH-domain protein, Sun1 usually forms a so-called LINC complex. Two proteins with functions reminiscent of KASH-domain proteins at the outer nuclear membrane of Dictyostelium are known; interaptin which serves as an actin connector and the kinesin Kif9 which plays a role in the microtubule-centrosome connector. However, both of these lack the conserved KASH-domain. The link of the centrosome to the nuclear envelope is essential for the insertion of the centrosome into the nuclear envelope and the appropriate spindle formation. Moreover, centrosome insertion is involved in permeabilization of the mitotic nucleus, which ensures access of tubulin dimers and spindle assembly factors. Our recent progress in identifying key molecular players at the nuclear envelope of Dictyostelium promises further insights into the mechanisms of nuclear envelope dynamics.