Root-knot nematodes from the genus Meloidogyne are obligate biotrophic plant parasites. During a compatible interaction, they induce the redifferentiation of root cells into multinucleated and hypertrophied feeding cells to ensure their growth and reproduction. The study of molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying giant cell ontogenesis has led to the identification of a Microtubule-Associated Protein, MAP65-3, essential for giant cell ontogenesis and nematode development. One of the MAP65-3 interacting partners is a BUB3 homologue, member of the Mitotic Checkpoint Complex (MCC). The MCC is a surveillance mechanism ensuring that chromosomes undergoing mitosis do not segregate until they are properly attached to the microtubules of the mitotic spindle. During my thesis, I have characterized the Arabidopsis thaliana orthologs of the MCC, BUB3.1, MAD2 and the multigenic family composed of BUBR1, BRK1 et BUB1.2. I have demonstrated that MAP65-3 and all the MCC members interact together in planta, some interactions taking place within the nuclei or at the centromeres. As MAP65-3, all these genes are expressed in dividing cells. The study of the subcellular localization of the protein showed a cytoplasmic localization for BUB3.1, BUB1.2 and MAD2, nuclear for BUBR1 and centromeric for BRK1. Thus, the MCC proteins did not relocalize to the kinetochore during a normal mitosis in planta. BUB3.1, BUBR1 and MAD2 localize to the unattached kinetochores following defects in spindle assembly as observed in cells treated with microtubule poisons. The functional analysis of BUB1/BUBR1 multigenic family showed that the knock-out mutants were more sensitive to microtubule-destabilizing drugs. Furthermore, analysis of mitosis revealed that BUBR1 is essential for an error-free mitosis in Arabidopsis. This work represents the first characterization of the MCC in A. thaliana.
