Promiscuous Binding of Microprotein Mozart1 to γ-Tubulin Complex Mediates Specific Subcellular Targeting to Control Microtubule Array Formation

How γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC), a master template for microtubule nucleation, is spatially and temporally regulated for the assembly of new microtubule arrays remains unclear. Here, we report that an evolutionarily conserved microprotein, Mozart1 (Mzt1), regulates subcellular targeting and microtubule formation activity of γ-TuRC at different cell cycle stages. Crystal structures of protein complexes demonstrate that Mzt1 promiscuously interacts with the N-terminal domains of multiple γ-tubulin complex protein subunits in γ-TuRC via an intercalative binding mode. Genetic- and microscopy-based analyses show that promiscuous binding of Mzt1 in γ-TuRC controls specific subcellular localization of γ-TuRC to modulate microtubule nucleation and stabilization in fission yeast. Moreover, we find Mzt1-independent targeting of γ-TuRC to be crucial for mitotic spindle assembly, demonstrating the cell-cycle-dependent regulation and function of γ-TuRC. Our findings reveal a microprotein-mediated regulatory mechanism underlying microtubule cytoskeleton formation, whereby Mzt1 binding promiscuity confers localization specificity on the multi-protein complex γ-TuRC. [Display omitted] •Mzt1 interacts with multiple γ-TuRC subunits via an intercalative binding mode•Promiscuous binding of Mzt1 to γ-TuRC modulates γ-TuRC assembly and targeting•Mzt1 regulates specific subcellular localization of γ-TuRC•γ-TuRC possesses functional heterogeneity, modulating microtubule formation Huang et al. demonstrate that the microprotein Mzt1 adopts an intercalative binding mode to tightly associate with N-terminal domains of multiple γ-TuRC subunits. Furthermore, they show that promiscuous binding of Mzt1 in γ-TuRC regulates γ-TuRC assembly and targeting, controlling subcellular localizations of γ-TuRC and modulating microtubule formation in fission yeast.