Kinetochore dynein has been implicated in microtubule capture, correcting inappropriate microtubule attachments, chromosome movement, and checkpoint silencing. It remains unclear how dynein coordinates this diverse set of functions. Phosphorylation is responsible for some dynein heterogeneity (Whyte, J., Bader, J. R., Tauhata, S. B., Raycroft, M., Hornick, J., Pfister, K. K., Lane, W. S., Chan, G. K., Hinchcliffe, E. H., Vaughan, P. S., and Vaughan, K. T. (2008) J. Cell Biol. 183, 819 -834), and phosphorylated and dephosphorylated forms of dynein coexist at prometaphase kinetochores. In this study, we measured the impact of inhibiting polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) on both dynein populations. Phosphorylated dynein was ablated at kinetochores after inhibiting Plk1 with a small molecule inhibitor (5-Cyano-7-nitro-2-(benzothiazolo-Noxide)-carboxamide) or chemical genetic approaches. The total complement of kinetochore dynein was also reduced but not eliminated, reflecting the presence of some dephosphorylated dynein after Plk1 inhibition. Although Plk1 inhibition had a profound effect on dynein, kinetochore populations of dynactin, spindly, and zw10 were not reduced. Plk1-independent dynein was reduced after p150Glued depletion, consistent with the binding of dephosphorylated dynein to dynactin. Plk1 phosphorylated dynein intermediate chains at Thr-89 in vitro and generated the phospho-Thr-89 phosphoepitope on recombinant dynein intermediate chains. Finally, inhibition of Plk1 induced defects in microtubule capture and persistent microtubule attachment, suggesting a role for phosphorylated dynein in these functions during prometaphase. These findings suggest that Plk1 is a dynein kinase required for recruitment of phosphorylated dynein to kinetochores.Cytoplasmic dynein plays important roles at spindle poles, the cell cortex, and kinetochores during mitosis. The mechanisms that allow dynein to associate specifically with each site remain unknown. One possibility is suggested by the identification of a novel mitotic phosphorylation site in the dynein intermediate chains (ICs) 2 (1). This phosphorylated form of dynein (phospho-Thr-89, pT89) is specific for kinetochores from nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB) to metaphase. Previous work suggests that pT89 dynein is recruited to kinetochores through a direct interaction with zw10 but undergoes dephosphorylation in response to bioriented microtubule attachment and chromosome alignment. This dephosphorylation of dynein shifts binding to dynactin and stimulates poleward transport of checkpoint proteins; a transition required for the silencing of the spindle assembly checkpoint at metaphase. Defects in this process induce metaphase arrest/delay.One prediction of this model is that dynein could interact with multiple proteins at kinetochores, depending on the degree of microtubule attachment, microtubule occupancy, and chromosome alignment. Consistent with this scenario, several mitotic proteins have been implicated in interacting with or anchoring kinetochore dynein, including dy...