Lis1–dynein drives corona compaction and limits erroneous microtubule attachment at kinetochores

Mitotic cell division requires that kinetochores form microtubule attachments that can segregate chromosomes and control mitotic progression via the spindle assembly checkpoint. During prometaphase, kinetochores shed a domain called the fibrous corona as microtubule attachments form. This shedding is mediated, in part, by the minus-end directed motor dynein, which 'strips' cargoes along K-fibre microtubules. Despite its essentiality, little is known about how dynein stripping is regulated and how it responds to attachment maturation. Lis1 (also known as PAFAH1B1) is a conserved dynein regulator that is mutated in the neurodevelopmental disease lissencephaly. Here, we have combined loss-of-function studies, high-resolution imaging and separation-of-function mutants to define how Lis1 contributes to dynein-mediated corona stripping in HeLa cells. Cells depleted of Lis1 fail to disassemble the corona and show a delay in metaphase as a result of persistent checkpoint activation. Furthermore, we find that although kinetochore-tethered Lis1-dynein is required for error-free microtubule attachment, the contribution of Lis1 to corona disassembly can be mediated by a cytoplasmic pool. These findings support the idea that Lis1 drives dynein function at kinetochores to ensure corona disassembly and prevent chromosome mis-segregation.