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Related Concept Videos

Attachment of Sister Chromatids02:57

Attachment of Sister Chromatids

As cells progress into mitosis, the nuclear envelope breaks down, and the condensed chromosomes are exposed to the array of bipolar microtubules of the mitotic spindle. The kinetochore, a large, disc-shaped protein complex, is present at the centromere region of the sister chromatids and acts as a binding site for the microtubules.  Usually, the plus-end of a single microtubule is embedded within the kinetochore. However, some kinetochores first establish lateral contact with the side-wall of a...
Forces Acting on Chromosomes02:11

Forces Acting on Chromosomes

During mitosis, chromosome movements occur through the interplay of multiple piconewton level forces. In prometaphase, these forces help in chromosome assembly or congression at the equatorial plane, eventually leading to their alignment at the metaphase plate. The forces acting on the chromosomes are space and time-dependent; therefore, they vary with the position of the chromosomes as the cell progresses through mitosis. 
Microtubules and motor proteins exert two types of forces on...
Spindle Assembly02:50

Spindle Assembly

Spindle assembly occurs through three, often coexisting, pathways – the centrosome-mediated pathway, the chromatin-mediated pathway, and the microtubule-mediated pathway – collectively contributing to form a robust spindle apparatus.
In most cells, centrosomes are the primary microtubule nucleation centers. In the centrosome-mediated pathway, the G2-prophase transition triggers centrosome maturation and increased microtubule nucleation. Progressive nucleation results in a microtubule array...
Anaphase A and B01:39

Anaphase A and B

Microtubules form through the end-to-end polymerization of tubulin heterodimers. Kinetochore microtubules originate from the spindle poles, and their plus-ends connect with the kinetochores on sister-chromatids. Ndc80 protein complexes, present on the kinetochore, form low-affinity links with the plus end of these kinetochore microtubules.
Plus-end depolymerization releases tubulin heterodimers from the terminal region of the microtubule. As tubulin subunits are lost, the Ndc80 complexes detach...
The Mitotic Spindle02:27

The Mitotic Spindle

The mitotic spindle—or spindle apparatus—is a eukaryotic, cytoskeletal structure made up of long protein fibers called microtubules. Formed during cell division, the spindle separates sister chromatids and moves them to opposite ends of a parental cell, where the now individual chromosomes are distributed to two daughter cell nuclei.
The bipolar configuration of the mitotic spindle facilitates chromosomal segregation, preparing the cell for division. One mechanism that ensures bipolar mitotic...
Centrioles and Centrosomes01:13

Centrioles and Centrosomes

Most animal cells comprise a pair of centrioles together called a centrosome. The cell duplicates its centrosome and contains two centrosomes side-by-side, which begin to move apart during the prophase. As the centrosomes migrate to two different sides of the cell, microtubules start extending from each centrosome toward the other end. The mitotic spindle is composed of the centrosomes and their emerging microtubules.
Near the end of the prophase, also called late prophase or "prometaphase,"...

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Use of Time-Lapse Microscopy and Stage-Specific Nuclear Depletion of Proteins to Study Meiosis in S. cerevisiae
07:48

Use of Time-Lapse Microscopy and Stage-Specific Nuclear Depletion of Proteins to Study Meiosis in S. cerevisiae

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Kinetochore structure: pulling answers from yeast.

David M Kern1, Iain M Cheeseman

  • 1Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.

Current Biology : CB
|October 13, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers visualized the structure of kinetochore proteins in budding yeast. This electron microscopy study reveals how these essential cell division components organize on microtubules.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Kinetochore proteins are crucial for chromosome segregation during cell division.
  • The precise 3D arrangement and structural organization of these proteins remain largely unknown.
  • Understanding kinetochore structure is key to deciphering accurate chromosome partitioning.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the detailed structure and organization of kinetochore protein complexes.
  • To visualize the kinetochore's interaction with microtubules at a high resolution.
  • To provide a structural basis for kinetochore function in budding yeast.

Main Methods:

  • Isolation and purification of kinetochore particles from budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).
  • High-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) for structural visualization.
  • Computational image processing and 3D reconstruction of kinetochore complexes.

Main Results:

  • Visualization of individual kinetochore protein complexes in isolated states.
  • Determination of the overall architecture of the budding yeast kinetochore.
  • Detailed mapping of protein-protein interactions within the kinetochore structure.
  • Observation of the kinetochore's direct association with microtubules.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides unprecedented structural insights into the budding yeast kinetochore.
  • Reveals the molecular organization of key components involved in chromosome-microtubule attachment.
  • Establishes a structural framework for understanding kinetochore-mediated cell division.