FBS Colloquia No.309Laboratory of Chromosome Biology

Molecular basis of centromere/kinetochore assembly

The kinetochore is a large protein complex assembled on the centromeric chromatin and binds to spindle microtubules to make a linkage between sister chromatids and mitotic spindle, enabling faithful chromosome segregation during mitosis. Given kinetochore complex plays the fundamental role, understanding of molecular basis of centromere/kinetochore structure formation and its regulation is crucial to understand how our genetic information is correctly transmitted from one generation to the next. Here, I will be introducing our recent studies on CENP-C, a kinetochore component, and discussing how the centromere and kinetochore structures are assembled.