title: Elm1 kinase activates the spindle position checkpoint kinase Kin4.
abstract: Budding yeast asymmetric cell division relies upon the precise coordination of spindle orientation and cell cycle progression. The spindle position checkpoint (SPOC) is a surveillance mechanism that prevents cells with misoriented spindles from exiting mitosis. The cortical kinase Kin4 acts near the top of this network. How Kin4 kinase activity is regulated and maintained in respect to spindle positional cues remains to be established. Here, we show that the bud neck-associated kinase Elm1 participates in Kin4 activation and SPOC signaling by phosphorylating a conserved residue within the activation loop of Kin4. Blocking Elm1 function abolishes Kin4 kinase activity in vivo and eliminates the SPOC response to spindle misalignment. These findings establish a novel function for Elm1 in the coordination of spindle positioning with cell cycle progression via its control of Kin4.
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Molecular Biology of Centrosomes and Cilia, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ayse Koca
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Caydasi
authors.forename: Bahtiyar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kurtulmus
authors.forename: Maria I L
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Orrico
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: Bashar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Gislene
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D004789:Enzyme Activation; D017353:Gene Deletion; D008677:Metaphase; D010766:Phosphorylation; D010769:Phosphothreonine / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D021381:Protein Transport; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D010769:Phosphothreonine; D011494:Protein Kinases; C411302:ELM1 protein, S cerevisiae; C503719:KIN4 kinase, S cerevisiae; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases