The Kinase Regulator Mob1 Acts as a Patterning Protein for Stentor MorphogenesisMark M. Slabodnick, J. Graham Ruby, Joshua G. Dunn, Jessica L. Feldman, Joseph L. DeRisi, Wallace F. Marshall
PLoS Biology, 2014Abstract: Morphogenesis and pattern formation are vital processes in any organism, whether unicellular or multicellular. But in
contrast to the developmental biology of plants and animals, the principles of morphogenesis and pattern formation in
single cells remain largely unknown. Although all cells develop patterns, they are most obvious in ciliates; hence, we have
turned to a classical unicellular model system, the giant ciliate Stentor coeruleus. Here we show that the RNA interference
(RNAi) machinery is conserved in Stentor. Using RNAi, we identify the kinase coactivator Mob1—with conserved functions in
cell division and morphogenesis from plants to humans—as an asymmetrically localized patterning protein required for
global patterning during development and regeneration in Stentor. Our studies reopen the door for Stentor as a model
regeneration system.
