Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 May 6;14(6):604-13.
doi: 10.1038/ncb2493.

CENP-T proteins are conserved centromere receptors of the Ndc80 complex

Alexander Schleiffer  1 , Michael Maier, Gabriele Litos, Fabienne Lampert, Peter Hornung, Karl Mechtler, Stefan Westermann
Affiliations

CENP-T proteins are conserved centromere receptors of the Ndc80 complex

Alexander Schleiffer et al. Nat Cell Biol. .

Abstract

Centromeres direct the assembly of kinetochores, microtubule-attachment sites that allow chromosome segregation on the mitotic spindle. Fundamental differences in size and organization between evolutionarily distant eukaryotic centromeres have in many cases obscured general principles of their function. Here we demonstrate that centromere-binding proteins are highly conserved between budding yeast and humans. We identify the histone-fold protein Cnn1(CENP-T) as a direct centromere receptor of the microtubule-binding Ndc80 complex. The amino terminus of Cnn1 contains a conserved peptide motif that mediates stoichiometric binding to the Spc24-25 domain of the Ndc80 complex. Consistent with the critical role of this interaction, artificial tethering of the Ndc80 complex through Cnn1 allows mini-chromosomes to segregate in the absence of a natural centromere. Our results reveal the molecular function of CENP-T proteins and demonstrate how the Ndc80 complex is anchored to centromeres in a manner that couples chromosome movement to spindle dynamics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • T time for point centromeres.
    Gascoigne KE, Cheeseman IM. Gascoigne KE, et al. Nat Cell Biol. 2012 May 30;14(6):559-61. doi: 10.1038/ncb2509. Nat Cell Biol. 2012. PMID: 22561349

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Cell. 2004 Sep 17;118(6):715-29 - PubMed
    1. Mol Cell. 2010 Mar 26;37(6):865-78 - PubMed
    1. Genome Biol. 2006;7(3):R23 - PubMed
    1. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2011 Dec;22(9):946-52 - PubMed
    1. Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 Jan;37(Database issue):D229-32 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources