Phylogenetic and structural analysis of centromeric DNA and kinetochore proteins.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Kinetochores are large multi-protein structures that assemble on centromeric DNA (CEN DNA) and mediate the binding of chromosomes to microtubules. Comprising 125 base-pairs of CEN DNA and 70 or more protein components, Saccharomyces cerevisiae kinetochores are among the best understood. In contrast, most fungal, plant and animal cells assemble kinetochores on CENs that are longer and more complex, raising the question of whether kinetochore architecture has been conserved through evolution, despite considerable divergence in CEN sequence.

Results

Using computational approaches, ranging from sequence similarity searches to hidden Markov model-based modeling, we show that organisms with CENs resembling those in S. cerevisiae (point CENs) are very closely related and

SUBMITTER: Meraldi P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1557759 | biostudies-literature | 2006

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature