The Ndc80 kinetochore complex forms oligomeric arrays along microtubules

The Ndc80 complex is a key site of regulated kinetochore-microtubule attachment, but the molecular mechanism underlying its function remains unknown. Here we present a subnanometer resolution cryo-electron microscopy reconstruction of the human Ndc80 complex bound to microtubules, sufficient for precise docking of crystal structures of the component proteins. We find that Ndc80 binds the microtubule with a tubulin monomer repeat, recognizing α- and β-tubulin at both intra- and inter-dimer interfaces in a manner that is sensitive to tubulin conformation. Furthermore, Ndc80 complexes self-associate along protofilaments via interactions mediated by the amino-terminal tail of the Ndc80 protein, the site of phospho-regulation by the Aurora B kinase. Ndc80's mode of interaction with the microtubule and its oligomerization suggest a mechanism by which Aurora B could regulate the stability of load-bearing Ndc80-microtubule attachments

Multimodal microtubule binding by the Ndc80 kinetochore complex

The Ndc80 complex is a key site of kinetochore-microtubule attachment during cell division. The human complex engages microtubules with a globular “head” formed by tandem calponin-homology domains and an 80 amino-acid unstructured “tail” that contains sites of phospho-regulation by the Aurora B kinase. Using biochemical, cell biological, and electron microscopy analyses, we have dissected the tail’s roles in microtubule binding and mediating cooperative interactions between Ndc80 complexes. Two segments of the tail that contain Aurora B sites become ordered at interfaces; one with tubulin and the second with an adjacent Ndc80 head on the microtubule surface, forming interactions which are disrupted by phosphorylation. We propose a model in which Ndc80’s interaction with either growing or shrinking microtubule ends can be tuned by the phosphorylation state of its tail