Mal3 is a multi-copy suppressor of the sensitivity to microtubule-depolymerizing drugs and chromosome mis-segregation in a fission yeast pka1 mutant.

The cAMP-dependent protein kinase Pka1 is known as a regulator of glycogenesis, transition into meiosis, chronological aging, and stress responses in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We demonstrated here that Pka1 is responsible for normal growth in the presence of the microtubule-destabilization drug TBZ and proper chromosome segregation. The deletion of the pka1 gene resulted in the TBZ-sensitive phenotype and chromosome mis-segregation. We isolated the mal3 gene as a multi-copy suppressor of the TBZ-sensitive phenotype in the pka1Δ strains. Overexpression of the CH domain (1-143) or the high-affinity microtubule binding mutant (1-143 Q89R) of Mal3 rescued the TBZ-sensitive phenotype in the pka1Δ and mal3Δ strains, while the EB1 domain (135-308) and the mutants defective in microtubule binding (1-143 Q89E) failed to do so in the same strains. Chromosome mis-segregation caused by TBZ in the pka1Δ or mal3Δ strains was suppressed by the overexpression of the Mal3 CH domain (1-143), Mal3 CH domain with the coiled-coil domain (1-197), or full-length Mal3. Overexpression of EB1 orthologs from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Arabidopsis thaliana, Mus musculus, or Homo sapiens suppressed the TBZ-sensitive phenotype in the pka1Δ strains, indicating their conserved functions. These findings suggest that Pka1 and the microtubule binding of the Mal3 CH domain play a role in the maintenance of proper chromosome segregation.