KNL1 and the CENP-H/I/K complex coordinately direct kinetochore assembly in vertebrates.

Chromosome segregation during mitosis requires the assembly of a large proteinaceous structure termed the kinetochore. In Caenorhabditis elegans, KNL-1 is required to target multiple outer kinetochore proteins. Here, we demonstrate that the vertebrate KNL1 counterpart is essential for chromosome segregation and is required to localize a subset of outer kinetochore proteins. However, unlike in C. elegans, depletion of vertebrate KNL1 does not abolish kinetochore localization of the microtubule-binding Ndc80 complex. Instead, we show that KNL1 and CENP-K, a subunit of a constitutively centromere-associated complex that is missing from C. elegans, coordinately direct Ndc80 complex localization. Simultaneously reducing both hKNL1 and CENP-K function abolishes all aspects of kinetochore assembly downstream of centromeric chromatin and causes catastrophic chromosome segregation defects. These findings explain discrepancies in kinetochore assembly pathways between different organisms and reveal a surprising plasticity in the assembly mechanism of an essential cell division organelle.