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

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.

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M Hinshaw ◽  
Stephen C Harrison

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.


2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 1446-1454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Morris ◽  
Yoichiro Shibata ◽  
Ken-ichi Noma ◽  
Yuko Tsukamoto ◽  
Erin Warren ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Set2 methylation of histone H3 at lysine 36 (K36) has recently been shown to be associated with RNA polymerase II (Pol II) elongation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, whether this modification is conserved and associated with transcription elongation in other organisms is not known. Here we report the identification and characterization of the Set2 ortholog responsible for K36 methylation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We find that similar to the budding yeast enzyme, S. pombe Set2 is also a robust nucleosome-selective H3 methyltransferase that is specific for K36. Deletion of the S. pombe set2 + gene results in complete abolishment of K36 methylation as well as a slow-growth phenotype on plates containing synthetic medium. These results indicate that Set2 is the sole enzyme responsible for this modification in fission yeast and is important for cell growth under stressed conditions. Using the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, we demonstrate that K36 methylation in S. pombe is associated with the transcribed regions of Pol II-regulated genes and is devoid in regions that are not transcribed by Pol II. Consistent with a role for Set2 in transcription elongation, we find that S. pombe Set2 associates with the hyperphosphorylated form of Pol II and can fully rescue K36 methylation and Pol II interaction in budding yeast cells deleted for Set2. These results, along with our finding that K36 methylation is highly conserved among eukaryotes, imply a conserved role for this modification in the transcription elongation process.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (10) ◽  
pp. 5386-5393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Shahnejat-Bushehri ◽  
Ann E. Ehrenhofer-Murray

The AAA+ ATPase and bromodomain factor ATAD2/ANCCA is overexpressed in many types of cancer, but how it contributes to tumorigenesis is not understood. Here, we report that the Saccharomyces cerevisiae homolog Yta7ATAD2 is a deposition factor for the centromeric histone H3 variant Cse4CENP-A at the centromere in yeast. Yta7ATAD2 regulates the levels of centromeric Cse4CENP-A in that yta7∆ causes reduced Cse4CENP-A deposition, whereas YTA7 overexpression causes increased Cse4CENP-A deposition. Yta7ATAD2 coimmunoprecipitates with Cse4CENP-A and is associated with the centromere, arguing for a direct role of Yta7ATAD2 in Cse4CENP-A deposition. Furthermore, increasing centromeric Cse4CENP-A levels by YTA7 overexpression requires the activity of Scm3HJURP, the centromeric nucleosome assembly factor. Importantly, Yta7ATAD2 interacts in vivo with Scm3HJURP, indicating that Yta7ATAD2 is a cochaperone for Scm3HJURP. The absence of Yta7 causes defects in growth and chromosome segregation with mutations in components of the inner kinetochore (CTF19/CCAN, Mif2CENP-C, Cbf1). Since Yta7ATAD2 is an AAA+ ATPase and potential hexameric unfoldase, our results suggest that it may unfold the Cse4CENP-A histone and hand it over to Scm3HJURP for subsequent deposition in the centromeric nucleosome. Furthermore, our findings suggest that ATAD2 overexpression may enhance malignant transformation in humans by misregulating centromeric CENP-A levels, thus leading to defects in kinetochore assembly and chromosome segregation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 360 (1455) ◽  
pp. 569-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison L Pidoux ◽  
Robin C Allshire

Chromatin at centromeres is distinct from the chromatin in which the remainder of the genome is assembled. Two features consistently distinguish centromeres: the presence of the histone H3 variant CENP-A and, in most organisms, the presence of heterochromatin. In fission yeast, domains of silent ‘heterochromatin’ flank the CENP-A chromatin domain that forms a platform upon which the kinetochore is assembled. Thus, fission yeast centromeres resemble their metazoan counterparts where the kinetochore is embedded in centromeric heterochromatin. The centromeric outer repeat chromatin is underacetylated on histones H3 and H4, and methylated on lysine 9 of histone H3, which provides a binding site for the chromodomain protein Swi6 (orthologue of Heterochromatin Protein 1, HP1). The remarkable demonstration that the assembly of repressive heterochromatin is dependent on the RNA interference machinery provokes many questions about the mechanisms of this process that may be tractable in fission yeast. Heterochromatin ensures that a high density of cohesin is recruited to centromeric regions, but it could have additional roles in centromere architecture and the prevention of merotely, and it might also act as a trigger for kinetochore assembly. In addition, we discuss an epigenetic model for ensuring that CENP-A is targeted and replenished at the kinetochore domain.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C Barbosa ◽  
Zhengyao Xu ◽  
Kazhal Karari ◽  
Silke Hauf ◽  
William RA Brown

Eukaryotic centromeric DNA is famously variable in evolution but currently, this cannot be reconciled with the conservation of eukaryotic centromere function. It seems likely that centromeric DNA from different organisms contains conserved functionally important features but the identity of these features is unknown. The point centromeres of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the regional centromeres of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe are separated by 350 million years of evolution and are canonical examples of the paradoxical relationship1 between centromeric DNA sequence and function. We have established a centromere-replacement strategy in Schizosaccharomyces pombe in order to resolve this paradox experimentally. Centromere-replacement shows that an A+T rich bacterial DNA sequence has weak centromere function and that elements of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae centromere embedded in short sequences from the non-centromeric S. pombe wee1 gene function almost as well as native S. pombe centromeric DNA. These observations demonstrate that determinants of centromere function are held in common by the budding and fission yeasts and that A+T rich DNA is both necessary and sufficient for function in S. pombe. Given the evolutionary distance between these yeasts, it is likely that A+T rich DNA has centromere function in a wide variety of eukaryotes. Centromere-replacement uses unidirectional serine recombinases that work well in many organisms2 3 and our experimental strategy should allow this idea to be tested in other eukaryotes.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica R. Eisenstatt ◽  
Kentaro Ohkuni ◽  
Wei-Chun Au ◽  
Olivia Preston ◽  
Evelyn Suva ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMislocalization of the centromeric histone H3 variant (Cse4 in budding yeast, CID in flies, CENP-A in humans) to non-centromeric regions contributes to chromosomal instability (CIN) in yeast, fly, and human cells. Overexpression and mislocalization of CENP-A has been observed in cancers, however, the mechanisms that facilitate the mislocalization of overexpressed CENP-A have not been fully explored. Defects in ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis of overexpressed Cse4 (GALCSE4) leads to its mislocalization and synthetic dosage lethality (SDL) in mutants for E3 ubiquitin ligases (Psh1, Slx5, SCFMet30, SCFCdc4), Doa1, Hir2, and Cdc7. In contrast, defects in sumoylation of GALcse4K215/216/A/R prevent its mislocalization and do not cause SDL in a psh1Δ strain. Here, we used a genome-wide screen to identify factors that facilitate the mislocalization of overexpressed Cse4 by characterizing suppressors of the psh1Δ GALCSE4 SDL. Deletions of histone H4 alleles (HHF1 or HHF2), which were among the most prominent suppressors, also suppress slx5Δ, cdc4-1, doa1Δ, hir2Δ, and cdc7-4 GALCSE4 SDL. Reduced dosage of H4 contributes to defects in sumoylation and reduced mislocalization of overexpressed Cse4. We determined that the hhf1-20, cse4-102, and cse4-111 mutants, which are defective in the Cse4-H4 interaction, also exhibit reduced sumoylation of Cse4 and do not display psh1Δ GALCSE4 SDL. In summary, we have identified genes that contribute to the mislocalization of overexpressed Cse4 and defined a role for the gene dosage of H4 in facilitating Cse4 sumoylation and mislocalization to non-centromeric regions, contributing to SDL when Cse4 is overexpressed in mutant strains.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Puneet P. Singh ◽  
Manu Shukla ◽  
Sharon A. White ◽  
Pin Tong ◽  
Tatsiana Auchynnikava ◽  
...  

SUMMARYCentromeres are maintained epigenetically by the presence of CENP-A, an evolutionarily-conserved histone H3 variant, which directs kinetochore assembly and hence, centromere function. To identify factors that promote assembly of CENP-A chromatin, we affinity selected solubilised fission yeast CENP-ACnp1 chromatin. All subunits of the Ino80 complex were enriched, including the auxiliary subunit Hap2. In addition to a role in maintenance of CENP-ACnp1 chromatin integrity at endogenous centromeres, Hap2 is required for de novo assembly of CENP-ACnp1 chromatin on naïve centromere DNA and promotes H3 turnover on centromere regions and other loci prone to CENP-ACnp1 deposition. Prior to CENP-ACnp1 chromatin assembly, Hap2 facilitates transcription from centromere DNA. These analyses suggest that Hap2-Ino80 destabilises H3 nucleosomes on centromere DNA through transcription-coupled histone H3 turnover, driving the replacement of resident H3 nucleosomes with CENP-ACnp1 nucleosomes. These inherent properties define centromere DNA by directing a program that mediates CENP-ACnp1 assembly on appropriate sequences.


2012 ◽  
Vol 198 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen E. Moreira ◽  
Sebastian Schuck ◽  
Bianca Schrul ◽  
Florian Fröhlich ◽  
James B. Moseley ◽  
...  

Eisosomes are stable domains at the plasma membrane of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and have been proposed to function in endocytosis. Eisosomes are composed of two main cytoplasmic proteins, Pil1 and Lsp1, that form a scaffold around furrow-like plasma membrane invaginations. We show here that the poorly characterized eisosome protein Seg1/Ymr086w is important for eisosome biogenesis and architecture. Seg1 was required for efficient incorporation of Pil1 into eisosomes and the generation of normal plasma membrane furrows. Seg1 preceded Pil1 during eisosome formation and established a platform for the assembly of other eisosome components. This platform was further shaped and stabilized upon the arrival of Pil1 and Lsp1. Moreover, Seg1 abundance controlled the shape of eisosomes by determining their length. Similarly, the Schizosaccharomyces pombe Seg1-like protein Sle1 was necessary to generate the filamentous eisosomes present in fission yeast. The function of Seg1 in the stepwise biogenesis of eisosomes reveals striking architectural similarities between eisosomes in yeast and caveolae in mammals.


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