Kinetochore protein Spindly controls microtubule polarity in Drosophila axons

Neurons send and receive electrical signals through long microtubule-filled neurites called axons and dendrites. One of the main structural differences between axons and dendrites is how their microtubules are organized. Axons contain microtubules with their plus-ends out while microtubules in dendrites are organized with mixed or plus-end-in orientation. Dynein, the main minus-end microtubule motor anchored to cortical actin filaments in the axons, is responsible for uniform microtubule polarity in axons. However, it is unknown how dynein is recruited to the actin cortex in axons. The major finding of this work is that Spindly, a protein involved in anchoring dynein to kinetochores during cell division, has a second important function in interphase cells: recruiting dynein to the actin cortex in axons.