Generating a "Humanized" Drosophila S2 Cell Line Sensitive to Pharmacological Inhibition of Kinesin-5

Kinetochores are large protein-based structures that assemble on centromeres during cell division and link chromosomes to spindle microtubules. Proper distribution of the genetic material requires that sister kinetochores on every chromosome become bioriented by attaching to microtubules from opposite spindle poles before progressing into anaphase. However, erroneous, non-bioriented attachment states are common and cellular pathways exist to both detect and correct such attachments during cell division. The process by which improper kinetochore-microtubule interactions are destabilized is referred to as error correction. To study error correction in living cells, incorrect attachments are purposely generated via chemical inhibition of kinesin-5 motor, which leads to monopolar spindle assembly, and the transition from mal-orientation to biorientation is observed following drug washout. The large number of chromosomes in many model tissue culture cell types poses a challenge in observing individual error correction events. Drosophila S2 cells are better subjects for such studies as they possess as few as 4 pairs of chromosomes. However, small molecule kinesin-5 inhibitors are ineffective against Drosophila kinesin-5 (Klp61F). Here we describe how to build a Drosophila cell line that effectively replaces Klp61F with human kinesin-5, which renders the cells sensitive to pharmacological inhibition of the motor and suitable for use in the cell-based error correction assay.