scholarly journals Molecular architecture of the kinetochore-microtubule attachment site is conserved between point and regional centromeres

2008 ◽  
Vol 181 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit P. Joglekar ◽  
David Bouck ◽  
Ken Finley ◽  
Xingkun Liu ◽  
Yakun Wan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Budding Yeast ◽  
Attachment Site ◽  
Molecular Architecture ◽  
Kinetochore Protein ◽  
Kinetochore Assembly ◽  
Microtubule Attachment ◽  
Unique Site ◽  
Structural Subunit ◽  
Quantitative Fluorescence

Point and regional centromeres specify a unique site on each chromosome for kinetochore assembly. The point centromere in budding yeast is a unique 150-bp DNA sequence, which supports a kinetochore with only one microtubule attachment. In contrast, regional centromeres are complex in architecture, can be up to 5 Mb in length, and typically support many kinetochore-microtubule attachments. We used quantitative fluorescence microscopy to count the number of core structural kinetochore protein complexes at the regional centromeres in fission yeast and Candida albicans. We find that the number of CENP-A nucleosomes at these centromeres reflects the number of kinetochore-microtubule attachments instead of their length. The numbers of kinetochore protein complexes per microtubule attachment are nearly identical to the numbers in a budding yeast kinetochore. These findings reveal that kinetochores with multiple microtubule attachments are mainly built by repeating a conserved structural subunit that is equivalent to a single microtubule attachment site.

scholarly journals Molecular architecture of a kinetochore–microtubule attachment site

2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 581-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit P. Joglekar ◽  
David C. Bouck ◽  
Jeffrey N. Molk ◽  
Kerry S. Bloom ◽  
Edward D. Salmon
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Site ◽  
Molecular Architecture ◽  
Microtubule Attachment

scholarly journals CENP-A exceeds microtubule attachment sites in centromere clusters of both budding and fission yeast

2011 ◽  
Vol 195 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie C. Coffman ◽  
Pengcheng Wu ◽  
Mark R. Parthun ◽  
Jian-Qiu Wu
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Budding Yeast ◽  
Histone H3 ◽  
Kinetochore Assembly ◽  
Microtubule Attachment ◽  
Attachment Sites ◽  
Histone H3 Variant ◽  
Architectural Models

The stoichiometries of kinetochores and their constituent proteins in yeast and vertebrate cells were determined using the histone H3 variant CENP-A, known as Cse4 in budding yeast, as a counting standard. One Cse4-containing nucleosome exists in the centromere (CEN) of each chromosome, so it has been assumed that each anaphase CEN/kinetochore cluster contains 32 Cse4 molecules. We report that anaphase CEN clusters instead contained approximately fourfold more Cse4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and ∼40-fold more CENP-A (Cnp1) in Schizosaccharomyces pombe than predicted. These results suggest that the number of CENP-A molecules exceeds the number of kinetochore-microtubule (MT) attachment sites on each chromosome and that CENP-A is not the sole determinant of kinetochore assembly sites in either yeast. In addition, we show that fission yeast has enough Dam1–DASH complex for ring formation around attached MTs. The results of this study suggest the need for significant revision of existing CEN/kinetochore architectural models.

scholarly journals The structure of the Ctf19c/CCAN from budding yeast

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M Hinshaw ◽  
Stephen C Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Budding Yeast ◽  
Histone H3 ◽  
Kinetochore Assembly ◽  
Microtubule Attachment ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Histone H3 Variant

Eukaryotic kinetochores connect spindlemicrotubules to chromosomal centromeres. A group of proteins called the Ctf19 complex (Ctf19c) in yeast and the constitutive centromere associated network (CCAN) in other organisms creates the foundation of a kinetochore. The Ctf19c/CCAN influences the timing of kinetochore assembly, sets its location by associating with a specialized nucleosome containing the histone H3 variant Cse4/CENP-A, and determines the organization of the microtubule attachment apparatus. We present here the structure of a reconstituted 13-subunit Ctf19c determined by cryo-electron microscopy at ~4 Å resolution. The structure accounts for known and inferred contacts with the Cse4 nucleosome and for an observed assembly hierarchy. We describe its implications for establishment of kinetochores and for their regulation by kinases throughout the cell cycle.

scholarly journals Point centromeres contain more than a single centromere-specific Cse4 (CENP-A) nucleosome

2011 ◽  
Vol 195 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josh Lawrimore ◽  
Kerry S. Bloom ◽  
E.D. Salmon
Keyword(s):  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Copy Number ◽  
Budding Yeast ◽  
Specific Binding ◽  
Histone H3 ◽  
Attachment Site ◽  
Microtubule Attachment ◽  
Copy Numbers ◽  
Gfp Fluorescence

Cse4 is the budding yeast homologue of CENP-A, a modified histone H3 that specifies the base of kinetochores in all eukaryotes. Budding yeast is unique in having only one kinetochore microtubule attachment site per centromere. The centromere is specified by CEN DNA, a sequence-specific binding complex (CBF3), and a Cse4-containing nucleosome. Here we compare the ratio of kinetochore proximal Cse4-GFP fluorescence at anaphase to several standards including purified EGFP molecules in vitro to generate a calibration curve for the copy number of GFP-fusion proteins. Our results yield a mean of ∼5 Cse4s, ∼3 inner kinetochore CBF3 complexes, and ∼20 outer kinetochore Ndc80 complexes. Our calibrated measurements increase 2.5–3-fold protein copy numbers at eukaryotic kinetochores based on previous ratio measurements assuming two Cse4s per budding yeast kinetochore. All approximately five Cse4s may be associated with the CEN nucleosome, but we show that a mean of three Cse4s could be located within flanking nucleosomes at random sites that differ between chromosomes.

Neuroligin-2 as a central organizer of inhibitory synapses in health and disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (663) ◽  
pp. eabd8379
Author(s):  
Heba Ali ◽  
Lena Marth ◽  
Dilja Krueger-Burg
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Transmission ◽  
Synapse Formation ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Inhibitory Synapses ◽  
Molecular Architecture ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Altered Expression ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Flow Of Information

Postsynaptic organizational protein complexes play central roles both in orchestrating synapse formation and in defining the functional properties of synaptic transmission that together shape the flow of information through neuronal networks. A key component of these organizational protein complexes is the family of synaptic adhesion proteins called neuroligins. Neuroligins form transsynaptic bridges with presynaptic neurexins to regulate various aspects of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission. Neuroligin-2 (NLGN2) is the only member that acts exclusively at GABAergic inhibitory synapses. Altered expression and mutations in NLGN2 and several of its interacting partners are linked to cognitive and psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, autism, and anxiety. Research on NLGN2 has fundamentally shaped our understanding of the molecular architecture of inhibitory synapses. Here, we discuss the current knowledge on the molecular and cellular functions of mammalian NLGN2 and its role in the neuronal circuitry that regulates behavior in rodents and humans.

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