Shugoshin and PP2A: collaborating to keep chromosomes connected.

Timely release of sister chromatid cohesion is essential for accurate chromosome segregation during cell division. Shugoshin forms a complex with the phosphatase PP2A that has been proposed to dephosphorylate cohesin proteins to prevent premature loss of centromeric cohesion. A recent study in Molecular Cell by Xu et al. presents the structure of Shugoshin bound to PP2A and provides evidence that this interaction is required for cohesion protection.