Spindle assembly checkpoint proteins are positioned close to core microtubule attachment sites at kinetochores

J Cell Biol. 2013 Sep 2;202(5):735-46. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201304197. Epub 2013 Aug 26.

Abstract

Spindle assembly checkpoint proteins have been thought to reside in the peripheral corona region of the kinetochore, distal to microtubule attachment sites at the outer plate. However, recent biochemical evidence indicates that checkpoint proteins are closely linked to the core kinetochore microtubule attachment site comprised of the Knl1-Mis12-Ndc80 (KMN) complexes/KMN network. In this paper, we show that the Knl1-Zwint1 complex is required to recruit the Rod-Zwilch-Zw10 (RZZ) and Mad1-Mad2 complexes to the outer kinetochore. Consistent with this, nanometer-scale mapping indicates that RZZ, Mad1-Mad2, and the C terminus of the dynein recruitment factor Spindly are closely juxtaposed with the KMN network in metaphase cells when their dissociation is blocked and the checkpoint is active. In contrast, the N terminus of Spindly is ∼75 nm outside the calponin homology domain of the Ndc80 complex. These results reveal how checkpoint proteins are integrated within the substructure of the kinetochore and will aid in understanding the coordination of microtubule attachment and checkpoint signaling during chromosome segregation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Motifs
  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / cytology
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism
  • Dyneins / metabolism
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Kinetochores / drug effects
  • Kinetochores / metabolism*
  • M Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints* / drug effects
  • Metaphase / drug effects
  • Microtubule Proteins / chemistry
  • Microtubule Proteins / metabolism
  • Microtubules / drug effects
  • Microtubules / metabolism*
  • Mutant Proteins / metabolism
  • Nocodazole / pharmacology
  • Protein Binding / drug effects
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Protein Subunits / metabolism

Substances

  • Microtubule Proteins
  • Mutant Proteins
  • Protein Subunits
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Dyneins
  • Nocodazole