Centrin4 coordinates cell and nuclear division in T. brucei.

Centrins are Ca(2+)-binding proteins that have been implicated in a number of biological processes, including organelle duplication, mRNA export, DNA repair and signal transduction. In the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei we have previously described TbCentrin2, which is present on a bi-lobed structure, and involved in the duplication and segregation of the Golgi complex. Recently, another centrin, TbCentrin4, was also found at the bi-lobe and has been implicated in organelle segregation and cytokinesis. We now show that cytokinesis is not inhibited, but that a dysregulation of nuclear and cell division leads to the production of zoids - daughter siblings that contain all organelles except the nucleus. Our results, therefore, suggest that TbCentrin4 is involved in processes that coordinate karyokinesis and cytokinesis.