Ipl1p is the budding yeast member of the Aurora family of protein kinases, critical regulators of genomic stability that are required for chromosome segregation, the spindle checkpoint, and cytokinesis. Using time-lapse microscopy, we found that Ipl1p also has a function in mitotic spindle disassembly that is separable from its previously identified roles. Ipl1–GFP localizes to kinetochores from G1 to metaphase, transfers to the spindle after metaphase, and accumulates at the spindle midzone late in anaphase. Ipl1p kinase activity increases at anaphase, and ipl1 mutants can stabilize fragile spindles. As the spindle disassembles, Ipl1p follows the plus ends of the depolymerizing spindle microtubules. Many Ipl1p substrates colocalize with Ipl1p to the spindle midzone, identifying additional proteins that may regulate spindle disassembly. We propose that Ipl1p regulates both the kinetochore and interpolar microtubule plus ends to regulate its various mitotic functions.

Faithful chromosome segregation depends on the opposing activities of the budding yeast Glc7/PP1 protein phosphatase and Ipl1/Aurora protein kinase. We explored the relationship between Glc7 and Ipl1 and found that the phosphorylation of the Ipl1 substrate, Dam1, was altered by decreased Glc7 activity, whereas Ipl1 levels, localization, and kinase activity were not. These data strongly suggest that Glc7 ensures accurate chromosome segregation by dephosphorylating Ipl1 targets rather than regulating the Ipl1 kinase. To identify potential Glc7 and Ipl1 substrates, we isolated ipl1-321 dosage suppressors. Seven genes (SDS22, BUD14, GIP3, GIP4, SOL1, SOL2, and PEX31) encode newly identified ipl1 dosage suppressors, and all 10 suppressors encode proteins that physically interact with Glc7. The overexpression of the Gip3 and Gip4 suppressors altered Glc7 localization, indicating they are previously unidentified Glc7 regulatory subunits. In addition, the overexpression of Gip3 and Gip4 from the galactose promoter restored Dam1 phosphorylation in ipl1-321 mutant cells and caused wild-type cells to arrest in metaphase with unsegregated chromosomes, suggesting that Gip3 and Gip4 overexpression impairs Glc7's mitotic functions. We therefore propose that the overexpression of Glc7 regulatory subunits can titrate Glc7 away from relevant Ipl1 targets and thereby suppress ipl1-321 cells by restoring the balance of phosphatase/kinase activity.The accurate partitioning of the genome during mitosis requires the precise regulation of the connection between chromosomes and the mitotic spindle. This fundamental interaction is mediated by the kinetochore, a specialized protein complex that assembles on centromeric DNA and facilitates the capture of dynamic spindle microtubules that arise from opposite poles (for reviews, see references 5, 13, and 17). Bipolar attachments promote accurate chromosome segregation by ensuring that the spindle forces on the replicated chromosomes (sister chromatids) are directed toward opposite sides of the cell. Once all chromosomes make proper bipolar attachments, the cell transitions to anaphase where sister chromatids are pulled to opposite poles. Failure to achieve bipolar attachments results in chromosome missegregation, and this aneuploid state predisposes multicellular organisms to the development of a variety of diseases. To prevent the premature segregation of improperly attached chromosomes, the spindle checkpoint monitors kinetochore-microtubule interactions and delays the metaphase to anaphase transition until bipolar attachments are achieved (for a review, see reference 42).An important regulator of both kinetochore attachment and the spindle checkpoint is the conserved Ipl1/Aurora B protein kinase, a component of the chromosomal passenger complex that localizes to kinetochores, spindles, and the spindle midzone and midbody (for reviews, see references 25 and 69).

Chromosome segregation depends on kinetochore biorientation so that sister kinetochores attach to microtubules from opposite poles and come under tension. The budding yeast Ipl1/Aurora protein kinase allows the absence of tension to activate the spindle checkpoint. We found that checkpoint activation in the mtw1-1 kinetochore mutant requires Ipl1p, suggesting that Mtw1p promotes tension. We isolated mtw1-1 dosage suppressors and identified Dsn1, a kinetochore protein that immunoprecipitates with the Mif2/CENP-C and Cse4/CENP-A proteins, as well as the Mtw1, Nnf1, and Nsl1 kinetochore proteins. mtw1 and dsn1 mutant strains exhibit similar phenotypes, suggesting that Mtw1p and Dsn1p act together. Although mtw1 mutant cells contained unattached chromosomes, attachment was restored by impairing Ipl1p function. These results suggest that mtw1 mutant kinetochores are competent to bind microtubules but Ipl1p generates unattached chromosomes. We therefore propose that an Mtw1 complex is required for kinetochore biorientation that is monitored by the Ipl1p kinase.

Kinetochores mediate chromosome attachment to the mitotic spindle to ensure accurate chromosome segregation. Budding yeast is an excellent organism for kinetochore assembly studies because it has a simple defined centromere sequence responsible for the localization of >65 proteins. In addition, yeast is the only organism where a conditional centromere is available to allow studies of de novo kinetochore assembly. Using a conditional centromere, we found that yeast kinetochore assembly is not temporally restricted and can occur in both G 1 phase and prometaphase. We performed the first investigation of kinetochore assembly in the absence of the centromeric histone H3 variant Cse4 and found that all proteins tested depend on Cse4 to localize. Consistent with this observation, Cse4-depleted cells had severe chromosome segregation defects. We therefore propose that yeast kinetochore assembly requires both centromeric DNA specificity and centromeric chromatin. INTRODUCTIONAccurate chromosome segregation in mitosis and meiosis is essential for the maintenance of genomic stability. Chromosomes attach to the mitotic spindle at the kinetochore, the protein complex that assembles onto centromeric DNA. Although kinetochore function is conserved, the underlying centromeric DNA is highly variable. Budding yeast contain a 125-base pair sequence-specific centromere that is sufficient for kinetochore formation (Fitzgerald-Hayes et al., 1982). In contrast, centromeres in multicellular eukaryotes are composed of megabases of highly repetitive DNA that lack sequence specificity (for review, see Sullivan et al., 2001). In these organisms, kinetochore assembly seems to be propagated by unidentified epigenetic component(s) (Karpen and Allshire, 1997;Sullivan et al., 2001).The best-characterized kinetochore is in budding yeast where Ͼ65 components have been identified that constitutively localize to the kinetochore (for reviews, see Biggins and Walczak, 2003;McAinsh et al., 2003). Most of the yeast kinetochore proteins are found in biochemically distinct complexes known as the CBF3, CTF19/COMA, MTW1, NDC80, and DAM1 complexes that seem to assemble on a single centromeric nucleosome (Meluh et al., 1998). Although the exact architecture of the kinetochore is not known, dependency relationships subdivide the kinetochore into inner, central, and outer domains. The inner kinetochore contains the CBF3 complex (Ndc10, Cep3, Skp1, and Ctf13) as well as the DNA binding proteins Mif2, Cbf1, and the yeast centromeric histone H3 variant (CenH3) Cse4. CBF3 binds directly to the centromeric DNA and is thought to nucleate kinetochore assembly because all kinetochore proteins require it for localization (Russell et al., 1999;Goshima and Yanagida, 2000;He et al., 2001;Janke et al., 2001Janke et al., , 2002. The central kinetochore contains the MTW1 (Mtw1, Dsn1, Nnf1, and Nsl1) and CTF19/COMA (Ctf19, Mcm16, Mcm19, Mcm21, Mcm22, Ctf3, Chl4, Okp1, Ame1, Iml3, Nkp1, and Nkp2) complexes. CTF19/COMA can be further divided into two subcomplexes, with Ame1...