PP2A-Cdc55 phosphatase coordinates actomyosin ring contraction and septum formation during cytokinesis

Abstract

SummaryEukaryotic cells divide and separate all their components after chromosome segregation by a process called cytokinesis to complete cell division. Cytokinesis is regulated by exclusive elements of the process, and by some mitotic exit regulators. The mitotic kinases Cdc28-Clb2, Cdc5, and Dbf2-Mob1 phosphorylate cytokinetic proteins in budding yeast, but very little is known about the phosphatases regulating cytokinesis. The PP2A-Cdc55 phosphatase regulates mitosis counteracting Cdk1- and Cdc5-dependent phosphorylations. This prompted us to propose that PP2A-Cdc55 could also regulate cytokinesis by counteracting the mitotic kinases. Here, we demonstrate by in vivo and in vitro assays that PP2A-Cdc55 dephosphorylates the F-BAR protein Hof1 and the chitin synthase Chs2, two components of the Ingression Progression Complexes (IPC) involved in cytokinesis regulation. Primary septum formation and actomyosin ring contraction are impaired in absence of PP2A-Cdc55. Interestingly, the non-phosphorylable version of Chs2 rescue the asymmetric AMR contraction observed in absence of Cdc55, indicating that timely dephosphorylation of the IPC proteins by PP2A-Cdc55 is crucial for proper actomyosin ring contraction and septum formation. These findings reveal a new mechanism of cytokinesis regulation by the PP2A-Cdc55 phosphatase and extend our knowledge in the involvement of multiple phosphatases during cytokinesis.