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The Ipl1-Aurora protein kinase activates the spindle checkpoint by creating unattached kinetochores

Abstract

The spindle checkpoint ensures accurate chromosome segregation by delaying cell-cycle progression until all sister kinetochores capture microtubules from opposite poles and come under tension (for reviews, see refs 1, 2). Although the checkpoint is activated by either the lack of kinetochore-microtubule attachments or defects in the tension exerted by microtubule-generated forces, it is not clear whether these signals are linked. We investigated the connection between tension and attachment by studying the conserved budding yeast Ipl1Aurora protein kinase that is required for checkpoint activation in the absence of tension but not attachment3. Here, we show that spindle-checkpoint activation in kinetochore mutants that seem to have unattached kinetochores depends on Ipl1 activity. When Ipl1 function was impaired in these kinetochore mutants, the attachments were restored and the checkpoint was turned off. These data indicate that Ipl1 activates the checkpoint in response to tension defects by creating unattached kinetochores. Moreover, although the Dam1 kinetochore complex has been implicated as a key downstream target, we found the existence of unidentified Ipl1 sites on Dam1 or additional important substrates that regulate both microtuble detachment and the checkpoint.

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Figure 1: Analysis of kinetochore mutants in the presence and absence of Ipl1 function reveals two classes of mutants.
Figure 2: Ipl1 is responsible for generating unattached kinetochores in metaphase ndc80-1 mutant cells.
Figure 3: The dam1 phospho-deficient mutant activates the spindle checkpoint and has unattached chromosomes due to Ipl1 activity.
Figure 4: Spindle-checkpoint activity is restored in ndc80-1 ipl1-321 mutant cells by regenerating unattached kinetochores and Sgo1 is not required to activate the checkpoint in ndc80-1 cells.
Figure 5: Model for Ipl1-Aurora function: Ipl1-Aurora corrects improper attachments and activates the spindle checkpoint by creating unattached kinetochores.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Murray, S. Parkhurst, B. Akiyoshi, C. Breed, K. Collins, S. Furuyama, C. Kotwaliwale and S. Tatsutani for critical reading of the manuscript and discussions. We are especially grateful to S. Tatsutani for his work on the Ipl1-as5 kinase. We thank G. Barnes, K. Bloom, D. Drubin, S. Elledge, T. Hyman, J. Kilmartin, K. Nasmyth, D. Pellman, P. Silver and M. Winey for generously providing strains and plasmids. B.A.P. was supported by a Paul Allen Foundation Fellowship, S.B. was supported by a Beckman Young Investigator Award and a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant, and K.M.S. was supported by a NIH grant R01-AI44009. S.B. is a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar.

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Correspondence to Sue Biggins.

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Pinsky, B., Kung, C., Shokat, K. et al. The Ipl1-Aurora protein kinase activates the spindle checkpoint by creating unattached kinetochores. Nat Cell Biol 8, 78–83 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1341

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