Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, 70112, USA.
Tulane Cancer Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, 70112, USA.
Bioessays. 2022 Jan;44(1):e2100201. doi: 10.1002/bies.202100201. Epub 2021 Nov 10.
Non-coding centromeres, which dictate kinetochore formation for proper chromosome segregation, are extremely divergent in DNA sequences across species but are under active transcription carried out by RNA polymerase (RNAP) II. The RNAP II-mediated centromeric transcription has been shown to facilitate the deposition of the centromere protein A (CENP-A) to centromeres, establishing a conserved and critical role of centromeric transcription in centromere maintenance. Our recent work revealed another role of centromeric transcription in chromosome segregation: maintaining centromeric cohesion during mitosis. Interestingly, this role appears to be fulfilled through ongoing centromeric transcription rather than centromeric transcripts. In addition, we found that centromeric transcription may not require some of the traditional transcription initiation factors, suggestive of "uniqueness" in its regulation. In this review, we discuss the novel role and regulation of centromeric transcription as well as the potential underlying mechanisms.
非编码着丝粒在物种间的 DNA 序列上差异极大，但它们在功能上是高度保守的，对于染色体的正确分离起着关键作用。这些着丝粒通过 RNA 聚合酶 II（RNAP II）进行活跃的转录。研究表明，RNAP II 介导的着丝粒转录有助于将着丝粒蛋白 A（CENP-A）沉积到着丝粒上，从而确立了着丝粒转录在维持着丝粒功能中的保守和关键作用。我们最近的工作揭示了着丝粒转录在染色体分离中的另一个作用：在有丝分裂过程中维持着丝粒的黏合。有趣的是，这一作用似乎是通过持续的着丝粒转录而不是着丝粒转录本来实现的。此外，我们还发现，着丝粒转录可能不需要一些传统的转录起始因子，这表明其调控具有“独特性”。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了着丝粒转录的新作用和调控机制，以及潜在的潜在机制。
