A new function of Skp1 in the mitotic exit of budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We previously reported that Skp1, a component of the Skp1-Cullin-F-box protein (SCF) complex essential for the timely degradation of cell cycle proteins by ubiquitination, physically interacts with Bfa1, which is a key negative regulator of the mitotic exit network (MEN) in response to diverse checkpoint-activating stresses in budding yeast. In this study, we initially investigated whether the interaction of Skp1 and Bfa1 is involved in the regulation of the Bfa1 protein level during the cell cycle, especially by mediating its degradation. However, the profile of the Bfa1 protein did not change during the cell cycle in skp1-11, which is a SKP1 mutant allele in which the function of Skp1 as a part of SCF is completely impaired, thus indicating that Skp1 does not affect the degradation of Bfa1. On the other hand, we found that the skp1-12 mutant allele, previously reported to block G2-M transition, showed defects in mitotic exit and cytokinesis. The skp1-12 mutant allele also revealed a specific genetic interaction with Deltabfa1. Bfa1 interacted with Skp1 via its 184 C-terminal residues (Bfa1-D8) that are responsible for its function in mitotic exit. In addition, the interaction between Bfa1 and the Skp1-12 mutant protein was stronger than that of Bfa1 and the wild type Skp1. We suggest a novel function of Skp1 in mitotic exit and cytokinesis, independent of its function as a part of the SCF complex. The interaction of Skp1 and Bfa1 may contribute to the function of Skp1 in the mitotic exit.