Centromere-independent accumulation of cohesin at ectopic heterochromatin sites induces chromosome stretching during anaphase.

ABSTRACT: Pericentric heterochromatin, while often considered as "junk" DNA, plays important functions in chromosome biology. It contributes to sister chromatid cohesion, a process mediated by the cohesin complex that ensures proper genome segregation during nuclear division. Long stretches of heterochromatin are almost exclusively placed at centromere-proximal regions but it remains unclear if there is functional (or mechanistic) importance in linking the sites of sister chromatid cohesion to the chromosomal regions that mediate spindle attachment (the centromere). Using engineered chromosomes in Drosophila melanogaster, we demonstrate that cohesin enrichment is dictated by the presence of heterochromatin rather than centromere proximity. This preferential accumulation is caused by an enrichment of

SUBMITTER: Oliveira RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4188515 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature