MAPK-dependent control of mitotic progression in S. pombe

Background: Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) preserve cell homeostasis by transducing physicochemical fluctuations of the environment into multiple adaptive responses. These responses involve transcriptional rewiring and the regulation of cell cycle transitions, among others. However, how stress conditions impinge mitotic progression is largely unknown. The mitotic checkpoint is a surveillance mechanism that inhibits mitotic exit in situations of defective chromosome capture, thus preventing the generation of aneuploidies. In this study, we investigate the role of MAPK Pmk1 in the regulation of mitotic exit upon stress.

Results: We show that Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells lacking Pmk1, the MAP kinase effector of the cell integrity pathway (CIP), are hypersensitive to microtubule damage and defective in maintaining a metaphase arrest. Epistasis analysis suggests that Pmk1 is involved in maintaining spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) signaling, and its deletion is additive to the lack of core SAC components such as Mad2 and Mad3. Strikingly, pmk1Δ cells show up to twofold increased levels of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C) activator Cdc20^Slp1 during unperturbed growth. We demonstrate that Pmk1 physically interacts with Cdc20^Slp1 N-terminus through a canonical MAPK docking site. Most important, the Cdc20^Slp1 pool is rapidly degraded in stressed cells undergoing mitosis through a mechanism that requires MAPK activity, Mad3, and the proteasome, thus resulting in a delayed mitotic exit.

Conclusions: Our data reveal a novel function of MAPK in preventing mitotic exit and activation of cytokinesis in response to stress. The regulation of Cdc20^Slp1 turnover by MAPK Pmk1 provides a key mechanism by which the timing of mitotic exit can be adjusted relative to environmental conditions.