The Spindle Assembly Checkpoint (SAC) is essential in mammalian mitosis to ensure the equal segregation of sister chromatids1, 2. The SAC generates a Mitotic Checkpoint Complex (MCC) to prevent the Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C) from targeting key mitotic regulators for destruction until all the chromosomes have attached to the mitotic apparatus1, 3, 4. A single unattached kinetochore can delay anaphase for several hours5, but how it is able to block the APC/C throughout the cell is not understood. Current concepts of the SAC posit that it exhibits either an ‘all or nothing’ response6 or there is a minimum threshold sufficient to block the APC/C7. Here, we have used gene targeting to measure SAC activity and find that it does not have an ‘all or nothing’ response. Instead, the strength of the SAC depends on the amount of Mad2 recruited to kinetochores and on the amount of MCC formed. Furthermore, we show that different drugs activate the SAC to different extents, which may be relevant to their efficacy in chemotherapy.

Summary The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) delays anaphase until all chromosomes are bi-oriented on the mitotic spindle. Under current models, unattached kinetochores transduce the SAC by catalyzing the intramitotic production of a diffusible APC/CCdc20 inhibitor. Here we show that nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in interphase cells also function as scaffolds for anaphase-inhibitory signaling. This role is mediated by Mad1-Mad2 complexes tethered to the nuclear basket, which activate soluble Mad2 as a binding partner and inhibitor of Cdc20 in the cytoplasm. Displacing Mad1-Mad2 from nuclear pores accelerated anaphase onset, prevented effective correction of merotelic errors, and increased the threshold of kinetochore-dependent signaling needed to halt mitosis in response to spindle poisons. A heterologous Mad1-NPC tether restored Cdc20 inhibitor production and normal M phase control. We conclude that nuclear pores and kinetochores both emit “wait anaphase” signals that preserve genome integrity.

Faithful chromosome segregation during mitosis depends on the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint (SAC) that monitors kinetochore attachment to the mitotic spindle. Unattached kinetochores generate mitotic checkpoint proteins complexes (MCCs) that bind and inhibit the Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C). How the SAC proficiently inhibits the APC/C but still allows its rapid activation when the last kinetochore attaches to the spindle is important to understand how cells maintain genomic stability. We show that the APC/C subunit APC15 is required for the turnover of the APC/C co-activator Cdc20 and release of MCCs during SAC signalling but not for APC/C activity per se. In the absence of APC15, MCCs and ubiquitylated Cdc20 remain ‘locked’ onto the APC/C, which prevents the ubiquitylation and degradation of Cyclin B1 when the SAC is satisfied. We conclude that APC15 mediates the constant turnover of Cdc20 and MCCs on the APC/C to allow the SAC to respond to the attachment state of kinetochores.