Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026
Use of Time-Lapse Microscopy and Stage-Specific Nuclear Depletion of Proteins to Study Meiosis in S. cerevisiae
Published on: October 11, 2022
Assaying topoisomerase II checkpoints in yeast
Katherine Furniss1, Amit C J Vas, Andrew Lane
1Department of Genetics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Abstract:
Topoisomerase II activity is crucial to maintain genome stability through the removal of catenanes in the DNA formed during DNA replication and scaffolding the mitotic chromosome. Perturbed Topo II activity causes defects in chromosome segregation due to persistent catenations and aberrant DNA condensation during mitosis. Recently, novel top2 alleles in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed a checkpoint control that responds to perturbed Topo II activity. Described in this chapter are protocols for assaying the phenotypes seen in top2 mutants on a cell biological basis in live cells: activation of the Topo II checkpoint using spindle morphology, chromosome condensation using fluorescently labeled chromosomal loci, and cell cycle progression by flow cytometry. Further characterization of this novel checkpoint is warranted so that we can further our understanding of the cell cycle, genomic stability, and the possibility of identifying novel drug targets.
Related Concept Videos
02:02Meiosis II
The timing and cell division patterns of meiosis differ between males and females. In male meiosis, the centrosomes are part of the formation of the meiotic spindle. However, in oocytes, including that of humans, Drosophila,...
02:19The Spindle Assembly Checkpoint
Many proteins function together to control the spindle assembly checkpoint. Mutations affecting these proteins may allow cells to proceed into anaphase prematurely, resulting in the...