In new work published this month in Biology Open, Oliver Wueseke, David Zwicker, Jeff Woodruff, and colleagues show that PKL-1 phosphorylation of the centrosome scaffold protein SPD-5 is a key regulatory step which determines centrosome size and density. Importantly, they show that this step is not necessary for proper maintenance or function of the centrosome. Watch their Science Sketches video abstract below, and read the full article online, which is currently featured on the Biology Open home page!
Polo-like kinase phosphorylation determines Caenorhabditis__elegans centrosome size and density by biasing SPD-5 toward an assembly-competent conformation Oliver Wueseke*, David Zwicker*, Anne Schwager, Yao Liang Wong, Karen Oegema, Frank Jülicher, Anthony A. Hyman, Jeffrey B. Woodruff Biology Open 2016 5: 1431-1440; doi: 10.1242/bio.020990