The RHO1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a homolog of the mammalian RhoA small GTP‐binding protein, which is implicated in various actin cytoskeleton‐dependent cell functions. In yeast, Rho1p is involved in bud formation. A yeast strain in which RHO1 is replaced with RhoA shows a recessive temperature‐sensitive growth phenotype. A dominant suppressor mutant was isolated from this strain. Molecular cloning of the suppressor gene revealed that the mutation occurred at the pseuodosubstrate site of PKC1, a yeast homolog of mammalian protein kinase C. Two‐hybrid analysis demonstrated that GTP‐Rho1p, but not GDP‐Rho1p, interacted with the region of Pkc1p containing the pseudosubstrate site and the C1 domain. MKK1 and MPK1 encode MAP kinase kinase and MAP kinase homologs, respectively, and function downstream of PKC1. A dominant active MKK1–6 mutation or overexpression of MPK1 suppressed the temperature sensitivity of the RhoA mutant. The dominant activating mutation of PKC1 suppressed the temperature sensitivity of the RhoA mutant. The dominant activating mutation of PKC1 suppressed the temperature sensitivity of two effector mutants of RHO1, rho1(F44Y) and rho1(E451), but not that of rho1(V43T). These results indicate that there are at least two signaling pathways regulated by Rho1p and that one of the downstream targets is Pkc1p, leading to the activation of the MAP kinase cascade.

The RHO1 gene encodes a homolog of mammalian RhoA small GTP binding protein in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Rho1p is localized at the growth sites, including the bud tip and the cytokinesis site, and is required for bud formation. We have recently shown that Pkc1p, a yeast homolog of mammalian protein kinase C, and glucan synthase are targets of Rho1p. Using the two‐hybrid screening system, we cloned a gene encoding a protein which interacted with the GTP‐bound form of Rho1p. This gene was identified as BNI1, known to be implicated in cytokinesis or establishment of cell polarity in S.cerevisiae. Bni1p shares homologous domains (FH1 and FH2 domains) with proteins involved in cytokinesis or establishment of cell polarity, including formin of mouse, capu and dia of Drosophila and FigA of Aspergillus. A temperature‐sensitive mutation in which the RHO1 gene was replaced by the mammalian RhoA gene showed a synthetically lethal interaction with the bni1 mutation and the RhoA bni1 mutant accumulated cells with a deficiency in cytokinesis. Furthermore, this synthetic lethality was caused by the incapability of RhoA to activate Pkc1p, but not glucan synthase. These results suggest that Rho1p regulates cytoskeletal reorganization at least through Bni1p and Pkc1p.

Rho1p is a yeast homolog of mammalian RhoA small GTP-binding protein. Rho1p is localized at the growth sites and required for bud formation. We have recently shown that Bni1p is a potential target of Rho1p and that Bni1p regulates reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton through interactions with profilin, an actin monomer-binding protein. Using the yeast two-hybrid screening system, we cloned a gene encoding a protein that interacted with Bni1p. This protein, Spa2p, was known to be localized at the bud tip and to be implicated in the establishment of cell polarity. The C-terminal 254 amino acid region of Spa2p, Spa2p(1213–1466), directly bound to a 162-amino acid region of Bni1p, Bni1p(826–987). Genetic analyses revealed that both thebni1 and spa2 mutations showed synthetic lethal interactions with mutations in the genes encoding components of the Pkc1p-mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, in which Pkc1p is another target of Rho1p. Immunofluorescence microscopic analysis showed that Bni1p was localized at the bud tip in wild-type cells. However, in the spa2 mutant, Bni1p was not localized at the bud tip and instead localized diffusely in the cytoplasm. A mutant Bni1p, which lacked the Rho1p-binding region, also failed to be localized at the bud tip. These results indicate that both Rho1p and Spa2p are involved in the localization of Bni1p at the growth sites where Rho1p regulates reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton through Bni1p.

SummaryProper chromosome segregation in mitosis relies on correct kinetochore-microtubule (KT-MT) interactions. The KT initially interacts with the lateral surface of a single MT (lateral attachment) extending from a spindle pole and is subsequently anchored at the plus end of the MT (end-on attachment) [1]. The conversion from lateral to end-on attachment is crucial because end-on attachment is more robust [2–4] and thought to be necessary to sustain KT-MT attachment when tension is applied across sister KTs upon their biorientation [1]. The mechanism for this conversion is still elusive. The Ndc80 complex is an essential component of the KT-MT interface [1, 5], and here we studied a role of the Ndc80 loop region, a distinct motif looping out from the coiled-coil shaft of the complex [6], in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. With deletions or mutations of the loop region, the lateral KT-MT attachment occurred normally; however, subsequent conversion to end-on attachment was defective, leading to failure in sister KT biorientation. The Ndc80 loop region was required for Ndc80-Dam1 interaction and KT loading of the Dam1 complex, which in turn supported KT tethering to the dynamic MT plus end [3, 7]. The Ndc80 loop region, therefore, has an important role in the conversion from lateral to end-on attachment, a crucial maturation step of KT-MT interaction.

For proper chromosome segregation, sister kinetochores must interact with microtubules from opposite spindle poles (bi-orientation). To establish bi-orientation, aberrant kinetochore–microtubule attachments are disrupted (error correction) by Aurora B kinase (Ipl1 in budding yeast). Paradoxically, during this disruption, new attachments are still formed efficiently to allow fresh attempts at bi-orientation. How this is possible remains an enigma. Here we show that kinetochore attachment to the microtubule lattice (lateral attachment) is impervious to Aurora B regulation, but attachment to the microtubule plus-end (end-on attachment) is disrupted by this kinase. Thus, a new lateral attachment is formed without interference, then converted to end-on attachment and released if incorrect. This process continues until bi-orientation is established and stabilized by tension across sister kinetochores. We reveal how Aurora B specifically promotes disruption of the end-on attachment through phospho-regulation of kinetochore components Dam1 and Ndc80. Our results reveal fundamental mechanisms for promoting error correction for bi-orientation.

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SummaryHow kinetochores regulate microtubule dynamics to ensure proper kinetochore-microtubule interactions is unknown. Here, we studied this during early mitosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. When a microtubule shrinks and its plus end reaches a kinetochore bound to its lateral surface, the microtubule end attempts to tether the kinetochore. This process often fails and, responding to this failure, microtubule rescue (conversion from shrinkage to growth) occurs, preventing kinetochore detachment from the microtubule end. This rescue is promoted by Stu2 transfer (ortholog of vertebrate XMAP215/ch-TOG) from the kinetochore to the microtubule end. Meanwhile, microtubule rescue distal to the kinetochore is also promoted by Stu2, which is transported by a kinesin-8 motor Kip3 along the microtubule from the kinetochore. Microtubule extension following rescue facilitates interaction with other widely scattered kinetochores, diminishing long delays in collecting the complete set of kinetochores by microtubules. Thus, kinetochore-dependent microtubule rescue ensures efficient and sustained kinetochore-microtubule interactions in early mitosis.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a multifunctional molecular switch involved in establishment of cell morphogenesis. We systematically characterized isolated temperature-sensitive mutations in the RHO1 gene and identified two groups of rho1 mutations (rho1A and rho1B) possessing distinct functional defects. Biochemical and cytological analyses demonstrated that mutant cells of the rho1A and rho1B groups have defects in activation of the Rho1p effectors Pkc1p kinase and 1,3-␤-glucan synthase, respectively. Heteroallelic diploid strains with rho1A and rho1B mutations were able to grow even at the restrictive temperature of the corresponding homoallelic diploid strains, showing intragenic complementation. The ability to activate both of the essential Rho1p effector proteins was restored in the heteroallelic diploid. Thus, each of the complementing rho1 mutation groups abolishes a distinct function of Rho1p, activation of Pkc1p kinase or 1,3-␤-glucan synthase activity.After establishment of cell polarity, morphogenesis of plant and fungal cells is determined by organization of the intracellular cytoskeleton and construction of the extracellular cell wall. A Rho-type small GTP-binding protein (Rho1p) in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been shown to play a pivotal role in cell morphogenesis by regulating its effector proteins. Rho1p binds and activates Fks1p and Fks2p, two closely related catalytic subunits of 1,3-␤-glucan synthase (GS), 1 thereby directly controlling cell wall synthesis (1, 2). Rho1p also binds and activates Pkc1p, a yeast homolog of mammalian protein kinase C. Through the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, Pkc1p regulates organization of the actin cytoskeleton and transcription of several genes involved in cell wall integrity (3-6). Other Rho1p-interacting proteins include Bni1p, Skn7p, and Sec3p (7-10). Gene disruption analyses revealed that among the five Rho1p effector proteins, Fks1/2p and Pkc1p are the most important in yeast cell growth. ⌬fks1⌬fks2 and ⌬pkc1 are both lethal in complete medium (11, 12), whereas ⌬sec3 shows slow growth in synthetic medium (13), and ⌬bni1 and ⌬skn7 display normal growth (7, 15). Thus, Rho1p controls cell morphogenesis by regulating the activities of two essential effector proteins important for cell wall synthesis and actin cytoskeleton organization.Several conditional lethal mutations (high temperature-sensitive mutations) in the RHO1 gene (rho1-2, rho1-3, rho1-4, rho1-5) have been isolated in our laboratory and characterized for elucidation of Rho1p function. Biochemical analyses of the rho1 mutants greatly contributed to the understanding of the essential pathways downstream of Rho1p (2, 5, 6). However, the rho1 mutants did not always exhibit a single unique phenotype. Helliwell et al. (6) reported that actin morphologies differ among the rho1 mutants: rho1-3 and rho1-4 display normal polarized actin patches, whereas rho1-2 and rho1-5 possess delocalized actin patches. In this study, we investigated what kind of phenotypic differences ...