Autophosphorylation is sufficient to release Mps1 kinase from native kinetochores.

Accurate mitosis depends on a surveillance system called the spindle assembly checkpoint. This checkpoint acts at kinetochores, which attach chromosomes to the dynamic tips of spindle microtubules. When a kinetochore is unattached or improperly attached, the protein kinase Mps1 phosphorylates kinetochore components, catalyzing the generation of a diffusible "wait" signal that delays anaphase and gives the cell time to correct the error.

An assay for de novo kinetochore assembly reveals a key role for the CENP-T pathway in budding yeast.

Chromosome segregation depends on the kinetochore, the machine that establishes force-bearing attachments between DNA and spindle microtubules. Kinetochores are formed every cell cycle via a highly regulated process that requires coordinated assembly of multiple subcomplexes on specialized chromatin. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, we developed an assay to assemble kinetochores de novo using centromeric DNA and budding yeast extracts.

Histone H4 Facilitates the Proteolysis of the Budding Yeast CENP-ACse4 Centromeric Histone Variant.

The incorporation of histone variants into nucleosomes can alter chromatin-based processes. CENP-A is the histone H3 variant found exclusively at centromeres that serves as an epigenetic mark for centromere identity and is required for kinetochore assembly. CENP-A mislocalization to ectopic sites appears to contribute to genomic instability, transcriptional misregulation, and tumorigenesis, so mechanisms exist to ensure its exclusive localization to centromeres.