Sequential activities of Dynein, Mud and Asp in centrosome–spindle coupling maintain centrosome number upon mitosis

ABSTRACT Centrosomes nucleate microtubules and are tightly coupled to the bipolar spindle to ensure genome integrity, cell division orientation and centrosome segregation. While the mechanisms of centrosome-dependent microtubule nucleation and bipolar spindle assembly have been the focus of numerous works, less is known about the mechanisms ensuring the centrosome–spindle coupling. The conserved NuMA protein (Mud in Drosophila) is best known for its role in spindle orientation. Here, we analyzed the role of Mud and two of its interactors, Asp and Dynein, in the regulation of centrosome numbers in Drosophila epithelial cells. We found that Dynein and Mud mainly initiate centrosome–spindle coupling prior to nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB) by promoting correct centrosome positioning or separation, while Asp acts largely independently of Dynein and Mud to maintain centrosome–spindle coupling. Failure in the centrosome–spindle coupling leads to mis-segregation of the two centrosomes into one daughter cell, resulting in cells with supernumerary centrosomes during subsequent divisions. Altogether, we propose that Dynein, Mud and Asp operate sequentially during the cell cycle to ensure efficient centrosome–spindle coupling in mitosis, thereby preventing centrosome mis-segregation to maintain centrosome number.