Allshire Robin C, Karpen Gary H
Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, 6.34 Swann Building, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JR, UK.
Nat Rev Genet. 2008 Dec;9(12):923-37. doi: 10.1038/nrg2466.
The assembly of just a single kinetochore at the centromere of each sister chromatid is essential for accurate chromosome segregation during cell division. Surprisingly, despite their vital function, centromeres show considerable plasticity with respect to their chromosomal locations and activity. The establishment and maintenance of centromeric chromatin, and therefore the location of kinetochores, is epigenetically regulated. The histone H3 variant CENP-A is the key determinant of centromere identity and kinetochore assembly. Recent studies have identified many factors that affect CENP-A localization, but their precise roles in this process are unknown. We build on these advances and on new information about the timing of CENP-A assembly during the cell cycle to propose new models for how centromeric chromatin is established and propagated.
在细胞分裂过程中,每条姐妹染色单体的着丝粒上仅组装一个动粒对于精确的染色体分离至关重要。令人惊讶的是,尽管着丝粒具有至关重要的功能,但其在染色体位置和活性方面表现出相当大的可塑性。着丝粒染色质的建立和维持,以及因此而动粒的位置,是由表观遗传调控的。组蛋白H3变体CENP-A是着丝粒身份和动粒组装的关键决定因素。最近的研究已经确定了许多影响CENP-A定位的因素,但它们在这一过程中的精确作用尚不清楚。我们基于这些进展以及关于细胞周期中CENP-A组装时间的新信息,提出了关于着丝粒染色质如何建立和传播的新模型。