Divergent polo boxes in KKT2 bind KKT1 to initiate the kinetochore assembly cascade in Trypanosoma brucei.

ABSTRACT: Chromosome segregation requires assembly of the macromolecular kinetochore complex onto centromeric DNA. While most eukaryotes have canonical kinetochore proteins that are widely conserved among eukaryotes, evolutionarily divergent kinetoplastids have a unique set of kinetochore proteins. Little is known about the mechanism of kinetochore assembly in kinetoplastids. Here we characterize two homologous kinetoplastid kinetochore proteins, KKT2 and KKT3, that constitutively localize at centromeres. They have three domains that are highly conserved among kinetoplastids: an N-terminal kinase domain of unknown function, the centromere localization domain in the middle, and the C-terminal domain that has weak similarity to polo boxes of Polo-like kinases. We show that the kinase activity of KKT2

SUBMITTER: Ishii M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9727816 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature