The golgin Lava lamp mediates dynein-based Golgi movements during Drosophila cellularization.

Drosophila melanogaster cellularization is a dramatic form of cytokinesis in which a membrane furrow simultaneously encapsulates thousands of cortical nuclei of the syncytial embryo to generate a polarized cell layer. Formation of this cleavage furrow depends on Golgi-based secretion and microtubules. During cellularization, specific Golgi move along microtubules, first to sites of furrow formation and later to accumulate within the apical cytoplasm of the newly forming cells. Here we show that Golgi movements and furrow formation depend on cytoplasmic dynein. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Lava lamp (Lva), a golgin protein that is required for cellularization, specifically associates with dynein, dynactin, cytoplasmic linker protein-190 (CLIP-190) and Golgi spectrin, and is required for the dynein-dependent targeting of the secretory machinery. The Lva domains that bind these microtubule-dependent motility factors inhibit Golgi movement and cellularization in a live embryo injection assay. Our results provide new evidence that golgins promote dynein-based motility of Golgi membranes.