Fission yeast Mog1p homologue, which interacts with the small GTPase Ran, is required for mitosis-to-interphase transition and poly(A)(+) RNA metabolism.

We have cloned and characterized the Schizosaccharomyces pombe gene mog1(+), which encodes a protein with homology to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mog1p participating in the Ran-GTPase system. The S. pombe Mog1p is predominantly localized in the nucleus. In contrast to the S. cerevisiae MOG1 gene, the S. pombe mog1(+) gene is essential for cell viability. mog1(+) is required for the mitosis-to-interphase transition, as the mog1-1 mutant arrests at restrictive temperatures as septated, binucleated cells with highly condensed chromosomes and an aberrant nuclear envelope. FACS analysis showed that these cells do not undergo a subsequent round of DNA replication. Surprisingly, also unlike the Delta mog1 mutation in S. cerevisiae, the mog1-1 mutation causes nucleolar accumulation of poly(A)(+) RNA at the restrictive temperature in S. pombe, but the signals do not overlap with the fibrillarin-rich region of the nucleolus. Thus, we found that mog1(+) is required for the mitosis-to-interphase transition and a class of RNA metabolism. In our attempt to identify suppressors of mog1-1, we isolated the spi1(+) gene, which encodes the fission yeast homologue of Ran. We found that overexpression of Spi1p rescues the S. pombe Delta mog1 cells from death. On the basis of these results, we conclude that mog1(+) is involved in the Ran-GTPase system.