The role of dynein in yeast nuclear segregation

Cytoplasmic dynein, conserved in many eukaryotes, is involved in diverse cellular processes including vesicle and organelle transport, mitotic checkpoint signaling, and the organization and positioning of the nucleus. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a useful model system for studying the mechanism of dynein function since this organism apparently employs dynein for a single task: positioning of the nucleus and mitotic spindle during cell division. This chapter describes our current understanding of how dynein contributes to this process. We describe the components of the yeast dynein complex along with accessory factors that are necessary for dynein function, and we discuss how comparison with this system might provide insight into the molecular details of dynein mechanisms in other eukaryotes.