Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Sep;17(9):1124-33.
doi: 10.1038/ncb3219. Epub 2015 Aug 10.

Mad1 promotes chromosome congression by anchoring a kinesin motor to the kinetochore

Takashi Akera  1   2 , Yuhei Goto  1   2 , Masamitsu Sato  2 , Masayuki Yamamoto  2 , Yoshinori Watanabe  1   2
Affiliations

Mad1 promotes chromosome congression by anchoring a kinesin motor to the kinetochore

Takashi Akera et al. Nat Cell Biol. 2015 Sep.

Abstract

For proper partitioning of genomes in mitosis, all chromosomes must be aligned at the spindle equator before the onset of anaphase. The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) monitors this process, generating a 'wait anaphase' signal at unattached kinetochores of misaligned chromosomes. However, the link between SAC activation and chromosome alignment is poorly understood. Here we show that Mad1, a core SAC component, plays a hitherto concealed role in chromosome alignment. Protein-protein interaction screening revealed that fission yeast Mad1 binds the plus-end-directed kinesin-5 motor protein Cut7 (Eg5 homologue), which is generally thought to promote spindle bipolarity. We demonstrate that Mad1 recruits Cut7 to kinetochores of misaligned chromosomes and promotes chromosome gliding towards the spindle equator. Similarly, human Mad1 recruits another kinetochore motor CENP-E, revealing that Mad1 is the conserved dual-function protein acting in SAC activation and chromosome gliding. Our results suggest that the mitotic checkpoint has co-evolved with a mechanism to drive chromosome congression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2014 Apr;15(4):257-71 - PubMed
    1. Dev Cell. 2009 Aug;17 (2):257-67 - PubMed
    1. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2010 May;21(3):255-9 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1992 Oct 8;359(6395):540-3 - PubMed
    1. Cell. 2014 Feb 27;156(5):1017-31 - PubMed

Publication types