The spindle checkpoint is the prime cell-cycle control mechanism that ensures sister chromatids are bioriented before anaphase takes place. Aurora B kinase, the catalytic subunit of the chromosome passenger complex, both destabilizes kinetochore attachments that do not generate tension and simultaneously maintains the spindle checkpoint signal. However, it is unclear how the checkpoint is silenced following chromosome biorientation. We demonstrate that association of type 1 phosphatase (PP1(Dis2)) with both the N terminus of Spc7 and the nonmotor domains of the Klp5-Klp6 (kinesin-8) complex is necessary to counteract Aurora B kinase to efficiently silence the spindle checkpoint. The role of Klp5 and Klp6 in checkpoint silencing is specific to this class of kinesin and independent of their motor activities. These data demonstrate that at least two distinct pools of PP1, one kinetochore associated and the other motor associated, are needed to silence the spindle checkpoint.

SummaryThe spindle checkpoint is a surveillance system acting in mitosis to delay anaphase onset until all chromosomes are properly attached to the mitotic spindle [1, 2]. When the checkpoint is activated, the Mad2 and Mad3 proteins directly bind and inhibit Cdc20, which is an essential activator of an E3 ubiquitin ligase known as the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) [3]. When the checkpoint is satisfied, Cdc20-APC is activated and polyubiquitinates securin and cyclin, leading to the dissolution of sister chromatid cohesion and mitotic progression. Several protein kinases play critical roles in spindle checkpoint signaling, but the mechanism (or mechanisms) by which they inhibit mitotic progression remains unclear [4]. Furthermore, it is not known whether their activity needs to be reversed by protein phosphatases before anaphase onset can occur. Here we employ fission yeast to show that Aurora (Ark1) kinase activity is directly required to maintain spindle checkpoint arrest, even in the presence of many unattached kinetochores. Upon Ark1 inhibition, checkpoint complexes are disassembled and cyclin B is rapidly degraded. Importantly, checkpoint silencing and cyclin B degradation require the kinetochore-localized isoform of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1Dis2). We propose that PP1Dis2-mediated dephosphorylation of checkpoint components forms a novel spindle checkpoint silencing mechanism.