Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, 19104, USA.
Cell. 2011 Feb 18;144(4):471-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.02.002.
Centromeres direct chromosome inheritance, but in multicellular organisms their positions on chromosomes are primarily specified epigenetically rather than by a DNA sequence. The major candidate for the epigenetic mark is chromatin assembled with the histone H3 variant CENP-A. Recent studies offer conflicting evidence for the structure of CENP-A-containing chromatin, including the histone composition and handedness of the DNA wrapped around the histones. We present a model for the assembly and deposition of centromeric nucleosomes that couples these processes to the cell cycle. This model reconciles divergent data for CENP-A-containing nucleosomes and provides a basis for how centromere identity is stably inherited.
着丝粒指导染色体的遗传,但在多细胞生物中,它们在染色体上的位置主要是通过表观遗传而不是 DNA 序列来指定的。表观遗传标记的主要候选物是组装有组蛋白 H3 变体 CENP-A 的染色质。最近的研究为含有 CENP-A 的染色质的结构提供了相互矛盾的证据,包括组蛋白组成和围绕组蛋白的 DNA 的手性。我们提出了一个组装和沉积着丝粒核小体的模型,将这些过程与细胞周期联系起来。该模型调和了含有 CENP-A 的核小体的不同数据,并为着丝粒身份如何稳定遗传提供了基础。