eLife (Jul 2021)

Functional interdependence of the actin nucleator Cobl and Cobl-like in dendritic arbor development

  • Maryam Izadi,
  • Eric Seemann,
  • Dirk Schlobinski,
  • Lukas Schwintzer,
  • Britta Qualmann,
  • Michael M Kessels

DOI
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.67718
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

Read online

Local actin filament formation is indispensable for development of the dendritic arbor of neurons. We show that, surprisingly, the action of single actin filament-promoting factors was insufficient for powering dendritogenesis. Instead, this required the actin nucleator Cobl and its only evolutionary distant ancestor Cobl-like acting interdependently. This coordination between Cobl-like and Cobl was achieved by physical linkage by syndapins. Syndapin I formed nanodomains at convex plasma membrane areas at the base of protrusive structures and interacted with three motifs in Cobl-like, one of which was Ca2+/calmodulin-regulated. Consistently, syndapin I, Cobl-like’s newly identified N terminal calmodulin-binding site and the single Ca2+/calmodulin-responsive syndapin-binding motif all were critical for Cobl-like’s functions. In dendritic arbor development, local Ca2+/CaM-controlled actin dynamics thus relies on regulated and physically coordinated interactions of different F-actin formation-promoting factors and only together they have the power to bring about the sophisticated neuronal morphologies required for neuronal network formation in mammals.

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