Cohesin subunit SMC1 associates with mitotic microtubules at the spindle pole

Accurate mitotic chromosome segregation depends on the formation of a microtubule-based bipolar spindle apparatus. We report that the cohesin subunit structural maintenance of chromosomes subunit 1 (SMC1) is recruited to microtubule-bound RNA export factor 1 (Rae1) at the mitotic spindle pole. We locate the Rae1-binding site to a 21-residue-long region, SMC1(947-967) and provide several lines of evidence that phosphorylation of Ser(957) and Ser(966) of SMC1 stimulates binding to Rae1. Imbalances in these assembly pathways caused formation of multipolar spindles. Our data suggest that cohesin's known bundling function for chromatids in mitotic and interphase cells extends to microtubules at the spindle pole.