Simonetta Piatti

Bub3 interaction with Mad2, Mad3 and Cdc20 is mediated by WD40 repeats and does not require intact kinetochores

The kinetochore checkpoint pathway, involving the Mad1, Mad2, Mad3, Bub1, Bub3 and Mps1 proteins, prevents anaphase entry and mitotic exit by inhibiting the anaphase promoting complex activator Cdc20 in response to monopolar attachment of sister kinetochores to spindle fibres. We show here that Cdc20, which had previously been shown to interact physically with Mad2 and Mad3, associates also with Bub3 and association is up‐regulated upon checkpoint activation. Moreover, co‐fractionation experiments suggest that Mad2, Mad3 and Bub3 may be concomitantly present in protein complexes with Cdc20. Formation of the Bub3–Cdc20 complex requires all kinetochore checkpoint proteins but, surprisingly, not intact kinetochores. Conversely, point mutations altering the conserved WD40 motifs of Bub3, which might be involved in the formation of a β‐propeller fold devoted to protein–protein interactions, disrupt its association with Mad2, Mad3 and Cdc20, as well as proper checkpoint response. We suggest that Bub3 could serve as a platform for interactions between kinetochore checkpoint proteins, and its association with Mad2, Mad3 and Cdc20 might be instrumental for checkpoint activation.

Determinants of conformational dimerization of Mad2 and its inhibition by p31comet

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) monitors chromosome attachment to spindle microtubules. SAC proteins operate at kinetochores, scaffolds mediating chromosome‐microtubule attachment. The ubiquitous SAC constituents Mad1 and Mad2 are recruited to kinetochores in prometaphase. Mad2 sequesters Cdc20 to prevent its ability to mediate anaphase onset. Its function is counteracted by p31comet (formerly CMT2). Upon binding Cdc20, Mad2 changes its conformation from O‐Mad2 (Open) to C‐Mad2 (Closed). A Mad1‐bound C‐Mad2 template, to which O‐Mad2 binds prior to being converted into Cdc20‐bound C‐Mad2, assists this process. A molecular understanding of this prion‐like property of Mad2 is missing. We characterized the molecular determinants of the O‐Mad2:C‐Mad2 conformational dimer and derived a rationalization of the binding interface in terms of symmetric and asymmetric components. Mutation of individual interface residues abrogates the SAC in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. NMR chemical shift perturbations indicate that O‐Mad2 undergoes a major conformational rearrangement upon binding C‐Mad2, suggesting that dimerization facilitates the structural conversion of O‐Mad2 required to bind Cdc20. We also show that the negative effects of p31comet on the SAC are based on its competition with O‐Mad2 for C‐Mad2 binding.

Disappearance of the budding yeast Bub2–Bfa1 complex from the mother-bound spindle pole contributes to mitotic exit

Budding yeast spindle position checkpoint is engaged by misoriented spindles and prevents mitotic exit by inhibiting the G protein Tem1 through the GTPase-activating protein (GAP) Bub2/Bfa1. Bub2 and Bfa1 are found on both duplicated spindle pole bodies until anaphase onset, when they disappear from the mother-bound spindle pole under unperturbed conditions. In contrast, when spindles are misoriented they remain symmetrically localized at both SPBs. Thus, symmetric localization of Bub2/Bfa1 might lead to inhibition of Tem1, which is also present at SPBs. Consistent with this hypothesis, we show that a Bub2 version symmetrically localized on both SPBs throughout the cell cycle prevents mitotic exit in mutant backgrounds that partially impair it. This effect is Bfa1 dependent and can be suppressed by high Tem1 levels. Bub2 removal from the mother-bound SPB requires its GAP activity, which in contrast appears to be dispensable for Tem1 inhibition. Moreover, it correlates with the passage of one spindle pole through the bud neck because it needs septin ring formation and bud neck kinases.

Accumulation of Mad2-Cdc20 complex during spindle checkpoint activation requires binding of open and closed conformers of Mad2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) coordinates mitotic progression with sister chromatid alignment. In mitosis, the checkpoint machinery accumulates at kinetochores, which are scaffolds devoted to microtubule capture. The checkpoint protein Mad2 (mitotic arrest deficient 2) adopts two conformations: open (O-Mad2) and closed (C-Mad2). C-Mad2 forms when Mad2 binds its checkpoint target Cdc20 or its kinetochore receptor Mad1. When unbound to these ligands, Mad2 folds as O-Mad2. In HeLa cells, an essential interaction between C- and O-Mad2 conformers allows Mad1-bound C-Mad2 to recruit cytosolic O-Mad2 to kinetochores. In this study, we show that the interaction of the O and C conformers of Mad2 is conserved in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. MAD2 mutant alleles impaired in this interaction fail to restore the SAC in a mad2 deletion strain. The corresponding mutant proteins bind Mad1 normally, but their ability to bind Cdc20 is dramatically impaired in vivo. Our biochemical and genetic evidence shows that the interaction of O- and C-Mad2 is essential for the SAC and is conserved in evolution.

Role of the kinetochore protein Ndc10 in mitotic checkpoint activation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract. Mitotic checkpoints delay cell cycle progression in response to alterations in the mitotic apparatus, thus ensuring correct chromosome segregation. While improper spindle orientation activates the Bub2/Bfa1-dependent checkpoint in budding yeast, delaying exit from mitosis, lack of bipolar kinetochore-microtubule attachment activates a signal transduction cascade that prevents both anaphase onset and exit from mitosis by inhibiting the Cdc20/APC (Anaphase Promoting Complex)-mediated proteolysis of securin and inactivation of mitotic cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), respectively. Proteolysis of the securin Pds1 is necessary to liberate the separase Esp1, which then triggers sister chromatid separation, whereas inactivation of mitotic CDKs is a prerequisite for exit from mitosis and for starting a new round of DNA replication in the next cell cycle. In budding yeast, this latter checkpoint response involves the proteins Mad1, 2, 3, Bub1 and Bub3, whose vertebrate counterparts localize to unattached kinetochores. Mutations that alter other kinetochore proteins result in mitotic checkpoint activation, while the ndc10-1 mutation not only impairs kinetochore function, but also disrupts the checkpoint response, indicating a role for Ndc10 in this process. Here we present evidence that Ndc10 is not part of the Bub2/Bfa1-dependent pathway, and its role in the checkpoint response might also be different from that of the other Mad and Bub proteins. Indeed, Ndc10, unlike other mitotic checkpoint proteins, is not required for the mitotic block induced by overexpression of the Mps1 protein kinase, which is implicated in mitotic checkpoint control. Furthermore, the delay in mitotic exit caused by non-degradable Pds1, which does not require Mad and Bub proteins, depends on Ndc10 function. We propose that a pathway involving Ndc10 might monitor defects in the mitotic apparatus independently of the Mad and Bub proteins. Since the Esp1 separase is required for exit from mitosis in both ndc10-1 and nocodazole-treated mad2Δ cells, the two signal transduction cascades might ultimately converge on the inactivation of Esp1.

The spindle position checkpoint: how to deal with spindle misalignment during asymmetric cell division in budding yeast.

During asymmetric cell division, spindle positioning is critical to ensure the unequal segregation of polarity factors and generate daughter cells with different sizes or fates. In budding yeast the boundary between mother and daughter cell resides at the bud neck, where cytokinesis takes place at the end of the cell cycle. Since budding and bud neck formation occur much earlier than bipolar spindle formation, spindle positioning is a finely regulated process. A surveillance device called the SPOC (spindle position checkpoint) oversees this process and delays mitotic exit and cytokinesis until the spindle is properly oriented along the division axis, thus ensuring genome stability.

Correct spindle elongation at the metaphase/anaphase transition is an APC-dependent event in budding yeast

At the metaphase to anaphase transition, chromosome segregation is initiated by the splitting of sister chromatids. Subsequently, spindles elongate, separating the sister chromosomes into two sets. Here, we investigate the cell cycle requirements for spindle elongation in budding yeast using mutants affecting sister chromatid cohesion or DNA replication. We show that separation of sister chromatids is not sufficient for proper spindle integrity during elongation. Rather, successful spindle elongation and stability require both sister chromatid separation and anaphase-promoting complex activation. Spindle integrity during elongation is dependent on proteolysis of the securin Pds1 but not on the activity of the separase Esp1. Our data suggest that stabilization of the elongating spindle at the metaphase to anaphase transition involves Pds1-dependent targets other than Esp1.

Budding yeast greatwall and endosulfines control activity and spatial regulation of PP2A(Cdc55) for timely mitotic progression.

Entry into mitosis is triggered by cyclinB/Cdk1, whose activity is abruptly raised by a positive feedback loop. The Greatwall kinase phosphorylates proteins of the endosulfine family and allows them to bind and inhibit the main Cdk1-counteracting PP2A-B55 phosphatase, thereby promoting mitotic entry. In contrast to most eukaryotic systems, Cdc14 is the main Cdk1-antagonizing phosphatase in budding yeast, while the PP2ACdc55 phosphatase promotes, instead of preventing, mitotic entry by participating to the positive feedback loop of Cdk1 activation. Here we show that budding yeast endosulfines (Igo1 and Igo2) bind to PP2ACdc55 in a cell cycle-regulated manner upon Greatwall (Rim15)-dependent phosphorylation. Phosphorylated Igo1 inhibits PP2ACdc55 activity in vitro and induces mitotic entry in Xenopus egg extracts, indicating that it bears a conserved PP2A-binding and -inhibitory activity. Surprisingly, deletion of IGO1 and IGO2 in yeast cells leads to a decrease in PP2A phosphatase activity, suggesting that endosulfines act also as positive regulators of PP2A in yeast. Consistently, RIM15 and IGO1/2 promote, like PP2ACdc55, timely entry into mitosis under temperature-stress, owing to the accumulation of Tyr-phosphorylated Cdk1. In addition, they contribute to the nuclear export of PP2ACdc55, which has recently been proposed to promote mitotic entry. Altogether, our data indicate that Igo proteins participate in the positive feedback loop for Cdk1 activation. We conclude that Greatwall, endosulfines, and PP2A are part of a regulatory module that has been conserved during evolution irrespective of PP2A function in the control of mitosis. However, this conserved module is adapted to account for differences in the regulation of mitotic entry in different organisms.

Budding yeast PAK kinases regulate mitotic exit by two different mechanisms.

We report the characterization of the dominant-negative CLA4t allele of the budding yeast CLA4 gene, encoding a member of the p21-activated kinase (PAK) family of protein kinases, which, together with its homologue STE20, plays an essential role in promoting budding and cytokinesis. Overproduction of the Cla4t protein likely inhibits both endogenous Cla4 and Ste20 and causes a delay in the onset of anaphase that correlates with inactivation of Cdc20/anaphase-promoting complex (APC)–dependent proteolysis of both the cyclinB Clb2 and securin. Although the precise mechanism of APC inhibition by Cla4t remains to be elucidated, our results suggest that Cla4 and Ste20 may regulate the first wave of cyclinB proteolysis mediated by Cdc20/APC, which has been shown to be crucial for activation of the mitotic exit network (MEN). We show that the Cdk1-inhibitory kinase Swe1 is required for the Cla4t-dependent delay in cell cycle progression, suggesting that it might be required to prevent full Cdc20/APC and MEN activation. In addition, inhibition of PAK kinases by Cla4t prevents mitotic exit also by a Swe1-independent mechanism impinging directly on the MEN activator Tem1.

The RSC chromatin-remodeling complex influences mitotic exit and adaptation to the spindle assembly checkpoint by controlling the Cdc14 phosphatase

Rsc2 promotes Cdc14 release from the nucleolus to free cells from mitotic arrest.