The establishment and maintenance of higher-order structure at centromeres is essential for accurate chromosome segregation. The monopolin complex is thought to cross-link multiple kinetochore complexes to prevent merotelic attachments that result in chromosome missegregation. This model is based on structural analysis and the requirement that monopolin execute mitotic and meiotic chromosome se...

Endonuclease restriction (Hind III) fragments of DNA from Chinese hamster X mouse somatic cell hybrids hybridized with proline-rich protein complementary DNA clones only when the DNA was isolated from cells containing mouse chromosome 8, or a fragment of chromosome 8. The evidence suggests that proline-rich protein genes are located at the proximal portion of chromosome 8 toward the centromere.

Mitotic cell division involves the equal segregation of all chromosomes during anaphase. The presence of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) repeats on the right arm of chromosome XII makes it the longest in the budding yeast genome. Previously, we identified a stage during yeast anaphase when rDNA is stretched across the mother and daughter cells. Here, we show that resolution of sister rDNAs is achieved by ...

The location of the centromere of chromosome III (CEN3) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been altered by means of transformation. The frequency of meiotic crossing over in the CEN3-PGK1 and LEU2-CEN3 intervals increases approximately 1.5- and fourfold, respectively, when CEN3 is repositioned at HIS4. The centromere-distal HIS4-LEU2 region experiences a three- to fivefold decrease in the frequenc...

Previous studies of mitosis show that capture of single kinetochores by microtubules from both centrosomes (merotelic orientation) is a major cause of aneuploidy. We have characterized hcp-6, a temperature-sensitive chromosome segregation mutant in C. elegans that exhibits chromosomes attached to both poles via a single sister kinetochore. We demonstrate that the primary defect in this mutant i...

Posttranslational protein modification by small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) has emerged as an important regulatory mechanism for chromosome segregation during mitosis. This review focuses on how SUMOylation regulates the centromere and kinetochore activities to achieve accurate chromosome segregation during mitosis. Kinetochores are assembled on the specialized chromatin domains called ce...

Centromeres in eukaryotes are composed of tandem DNAs and retrotransposons. However, centromeric repeats exhibit considerable diversity, even among closely related species, their origin evolution largely unknown. We conducted a genome-wide characterization the sequences sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum). Four repeat sequences, So1, So103, So137 So119, were isolated. So1 has monomeric length 137...