Identification of Myo3, a second type‐II myosin heavy chain in the fission yeast <i>Schizosaccharomyces pombe</i>

Abstract

We cloned the myo3+ gene of Schizosaccharomyces pombe which encodes a type-II myosin heavy chain. myo3 null cells showed a defect in cytokinesis under certain conditions. Overproduction of Myo3 also showed a defect in cytokinesis. Double mutant analysis indicated that Myo3 genetically interacts with Cdc8 tropomyosin and actin. Myo3 may be implicated in cytokinesis and stabilization of F-actin cables. Moreover, the function of Myo2 can be replaced by overexpressed Myo3. We observed a modest synthetic interaction between Myo2 and Myo3. Thus, Myo2 and Myo3 seem to cooperate in the formation of the F-actin ring in S. pombe.