Mechanisms of nuclear segregation in a multinucleate multibudding yeast

Abstract

Budding yeasts present an especially challenging geometry for segregation of chromosomes, which must be delivered across the narrow mother–bud neck into the bud. Studies in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have revealed an elaborate set of mechanisms that selectively orient one mitotic spindle pole toward the bud and then drive spindle elongation along the mother–bud axis, ensuring nuclear segregation between mother and bud. It is unclear how these pathways might be adapted to yield similar precision in more complex cell geometries. Here, we provide the first description of the dynamics of mitosis in a multinucleate, multibudding yeast, Aureobasidium pullulans, and identify many unexpected differences from uninucleate yeasts. Mitotic spindles do not orient along the mother–bud axis prior to anaphase, and accurate nuclear segregation often occurs after spindle disassembly. Cortical Num1–dynein forces pull highly mobile nuclei into buds, and once a nucleus enters a bud, it discourages others from entering, ensuring that most daughters inherit only one nucleus.