title: Structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) proteins link microtubule stability to genome integrity.
abstract: Structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) proteins are key organizers of chromosome architecture and are essential for genome integrity. They act by binding to chromatin and connecting distinct parts of chromosomes together. Interestingly, their potential role in providing connections between chromatin and the mitotic spindle has not been explored. Here, we show that yeast SMC proteins bind directly to microtubules and can provide a functional link between microtubules and DNA. We mapped the microtubule-binding region of Smc5 and generated a mutant with impaired microtubule binding activity. This mutant is viable in yeast but exhibited a cold-specific conditional lethality associated with mitotic arrest, aberrant spindle structures, and chromosome segregation defects. In an in vitro reconstitution assay, this Smc5 mutant also showed a compromised ability to protect microtubules from cold-induced depolymerization. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that SMC proteins can bind to and stabilize microtubules and that SMC-microtubule interactions are essential to establish a robust system to maintain genome integrity.
authors.affiliation: From the Chemical Biology of Cell Division Laboratory, the Laboratory of Cell Cycle Regulation and Chromosome Structure, and.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Laflamme
authors.affiliation: From the Chemical Biology of Cell Division Laboratory.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tremblay-Boudreault
authors.affiliation: the Laboratory of Cell Cycle Regulation and Chromosome Structure, and.
authors.forename: Marc-André
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: From the Chemical Biology of Cell Division Laboratory.
authors.forename: Parker
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.affiliation: the Laboratory of Proteomics and Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry, Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, and.
authors.forename: Éric
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Bonneil
authors.affiliation: From the Chemical Biology of Cell Division Laboratory.
authors.forename: Kaleem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Atchia
authors.affiliation: the Laboratory of Proteomics and Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry, Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, and the Departments of Chemistry.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thibault
authors.affiliation: the Laboratory of Cell Cycle Regulation and Chromosome Structure, and Pathology and Cellular Biology, and damien.damours@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: D'Amours
authors.affiliation: From the Chemical Biology of Cell Division Laboratory, Medicine, Université de Montréal, Station Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada benjamin.kwok@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Benjamin H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Kwok
mesh_terms: D001665:Binding Sites; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016681:Genome, Fungal; D042822:Genomic Instability; D008870:Microtubules / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D055550:Protein Stability; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C486627:SMC5 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
keywords: Cell Division; Chromosomes; Microtubule; Mitosis; Mitotic Spindle; SMC Proteins