Mec1-Dependent Phosphorylation of the Scc3 Subunit of Cohesin during Mitosis in Budding Yeast

Cohesin is an evolutionary conserved complex that controls chromosome segregation during mitosis. Here we show that, in response to DNA damage, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Scc3, one of the major regulatory subunits of the Smc1-Smc3-Scc1 cohesin ring, is phosphorylated on S/T-Q residues. This event depended on the Mec1 checkpoint kinase as well as on cell cycle arrest triggered by the DNA damage checkpoint network. This phosphorylation event also took place during mitosis of an unperturbed cell cycle. The present finding that S. cerevisiae Scc3 is phosphorylated during mitosis represents a potentially important new regulatory step in cohesin’s mitotic functions.