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Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Immunofluorescence Analysis of Endogenous and Exogenous Centromere-kinetochore Proteins
Published on: March 3, 2016
Evolutionary Turnover of Kinetochore Proteins: A Ship of Theseus?
Ines A Drinnenberg1, Steven Henikoff2, Harmit S Malik2
1Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Current address: Chromatin Dynamics Unit, UMR2664, Institut Curie, Paris, France.
Abstract:
The kinetochore is a multiprotein complex that mediates the attachment of a eukaryotic chromosome to the mitotic spindle. The protein composition of kinetochores is similar across species as divergent as yeast and human. However, recent findings have revealed an unexpected degree of compositional diversity in kinetochores. For example, kinetochore proteins that are essential in some species have been lost in others, whereas new kinetochore proteins have emerged in other lineages. Even in lineages with similar kinetochore composition, individual kinetochore proteins have functionally diverged to acquire either essential or redundant roles. Thus, despite functional conservation, the repertoire of kinetochore proteins has undergone recurrent evolutionary turnover.
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