The Mechanosensitive Pkd2 Channel Modulates the Recruitment of Myosin II and Actin to the Cytokinetic Contractile Ring.

Cytokinesis, the last step in cell division, separates daughter cells through mechanical force. This is often through the force produced by an actomyosin contractile ring. In fission yeast cells, the ring helps recruit a mechanosensitive ion channel, Pkd2, to the cleavage furrow, whose activation by membrane tension promotes calcium influx and daughter cell separation. However, it is unclear how the activities of Pkd2 may affect the actomyosin ring. Here, through both microscopic and genetic analyses of a hypomorphic