CENP-A is a histone variant, which replaces histone H3 at centromeres and confers unique properties to centromeric chromatin. The crystal structure of CENP-A nucleosome suggests flexible nucleosomal DNA ends, but their dynamics in solution remains elusive and their implication in centromere function is unknown. Using electron cryo-microscopy, we determined the dynamic solution properties of the CENP-A nucleosome. Our biochemical, proteomic, and genetic data reveal that higher flexibility of DNA ends impairs histone H1 binding to the CENP-A nucleosome. Substituting the 2-turn αN-helix of CENP-A with the 3-turn αN-helix of H3 results in compact particles with rigidified DNA ends, able to bind histone H1. In vivo replacement of CENP-A with H3-CENP-A hybrid nucleosomes leads to H1 recruitment, delocalization of kinetochore proteins, and significant mitotic and cytokinesis defects. Our data reveal that the evolutionarily conserved flexible ends of the CENP-A nucleosomes are essential to ensure the fidelity of the mitotic pathway.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2016.06.023 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
High-resolution analysis of human centromeric chromatin.
Life Sci Alliance
April 2025
National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Bethesda, MD, USA
Centromeres are marked by the centromere-specific histone H3 variant CENP-A/CENH3. Throughout the cell cycle, the constitutive centromere-associated network is bound to CENP-A chromatin, but how this protein network modifies CENP-A nucleosome conformations in vivo is unknown. Here, we purify endogenous centromeric chromatin associated with the CENP-C complex across the cell cycle and analyze the structures by single-molecule imaging and biochemical assays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-nucleosomal (CENP-A/H4) - DNA complexes as a possible platform for centromere organization.
bioRxiv
January 2025
Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway (NCMM), Nordic EMBL Partnership, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo 0318, Norway.
The centromere is a part of the chromosome that is essential for the even segregation of duplicated chromosomes during cell division. It is epigenetically defined by the presence of the histone H3 variant CENP-A. CENP-A associates specifically with a group of 16 proteins that form the centromere-associated network of proteins (CCAN).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoscale Characterization of Interaction of Nucleosomes with H1 Linker Histone.
Int J Mol Sci
December 2024
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-6025, USA.
In eukaryotic nuclei, DNA is wrapped around an octamer of core histones to form nucleosomes. H1 binds to the linker DNA of nucleosome to form the chromatosome, the next structural unit of chromatin. Structural features on individual chromatosomes contribute to chromatin structure, but not fully characterized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe chromatin of the centromere provides the assembly site for the mitotic kinetochore that couples microtubule attachment and force production to chromosome movement in mitosis. The chromatin of the centromere is specified by nucleosomes containing the histone H3 variant CENP-A. The constitutive centromeric-associated network (CCAN) and kinetochore are assembled on CENP-A chromatin to enable chromosome separation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFunctional monocentricity with holocentric characteristics and chromosome-specific centromeres in a stick insect.
Sci Adv
January 2025
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Centromeres are essential for chromosome segregation in eukaryotes, yet their specification is unexpectedly diverse among species and can involve major transitions such as those from localized to chromosome-wide centromeres between monocentric and holocentric species. How this diversity evolves remains elusive. We discovered within-cell variation in the recruitment of the major centromere protein CenH3, reminiscent of variation typically observed among species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!