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. 2004 Apr 8;23(8):1681–1687. doi: 10.1038/sj.emboj.7600186

Figure 3.

Figure 3

The CUL-3-based complex is required for MEI-1 degradation at the meiosis-to-mitosis transition in C. elegans embryos. In C. elegans embryos, two different microtubule-based structures assemble within a 20 min interval in the same cytoplasm, for example, the meiotic and the mitotic spindle. Contrary to the anastral meiotic spindle that forms close to the cell cortex, the mitotic spindle assembles and elongates along the antero-posterior axis of the embryo (A–P). Long arrays of astral microtubules and the formation of a robust spindle are required during mitosis for correct spindle positioning, elongation, and cytokinesis. The microtubule-severing complex MEI-1/2 is essential for formation of the meiotic spindle (Clark-Maguire and Mains, 1994a, 1994b; Srayko et al, 2000). However, inactivation of this complex through MEI-1 (in red) degradation by the CUL-3-based ligase is a prerequisite for the assembly of a functional mitotic spindle. The regulation of MEI-1 degradation is not known.