Septins promote F-actin ring formation by crosslinking actin filaments into curved bundles.

Animal cell cytokinesis requires a contractile ring of crosslinked actin filaments and myosin motors. How contractile rings form and are stabilized in dividing cells remains unclear. We address this problem by focusing on septins, highly conserved proteins in eukaryotes whose precise contribution to cytokinesis remains elusive. We use the cleavage of the Drosophila melanogaster embryo as a model system, where contractile actin rings drive constriction of invaginating membranes to produce an epithelium in a manner akin to cell division. In vivo functional studies show that septins are required for generating curved and tightly packed actin filament networks. In vitro reconstitution assays show that septins alone bundle actin filaments into rings, accounting for the defects in actin ring formation in septin mutants. The bundling and bending activities are conserved for human septins, and highlight unique functions of septins in the organization of contractile actomyosin rings.

Microtubule-induced nuclear envelope fluctuations control chromatin dynamics in Drosophila embryos.

Nuclear shape is different in stem cells and differentiated cells and reflects important changes in the mechanics of the nuclear envelope (NE). The current framework emphasizes the key role of the nuclear lamina in nuclear mechanics and its alterations in disease. Whether active stress controls nuclear deformations and how this stress interplays with properties of the NE to control NE dynamics is unclear. We address this in the early Drosophila embryo, in which profound changes in NE shape parallel the transcriptional activation of the zygotic genome. We show that microtubule (MT) polymerization events produce the elementary forces necessary for NE dynamics. Moreover, large-scale NE deformations associated with groove formation require concentration of MT polymerization in bundles organized by Dynein. However, MT bundles cannot produce grooves when the farnesylated inner nuclear membrane protein Kugelkern (Kuk) is absent. Although it increases stiffness of the NE, Kuk also stabilizes NE deformations emerging from the collective effect of MT polymerization forces concentrated in bundles. Finally, we report that MT-induced NE deformations control the dynamics of chromatin and its organization at steady state. Thus, the NE is a dynamic organelle, fluctuations of which increase chromatin dynamics. We propose that such mechanical regulation of chromatin dynamics by MTs might be important for gene regulation.