The EMBO Journal
 
Advanced search
Journal home
Aims and scope
Current issue
Advance Online Publication
Web Focuses
Archive:-
Browse by issue
Browse by subject
Browse by category
Free online sample issue
Press releases
Authors & Referees
Editorial process
Guide for authors
Submit an article
Guide for referees
Editorial Team, Senior Advisors and Advisory Editorial Board
Contact Editorial office
Customer services
Subscribe
Order sample copy
Purchase articles
Reprints and permissions
Contact NPG
Advertising
EMBO
www.embo.org
Article
Subject Categories: Cell Cycle
The EMBO Journal (2005) 24, 3927–3939, doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7600848
Published online 27 October 2005
Unstable microtubule capture at kinetochores depleted of the centromere-associated protein CENP-F
Pascale Bomont, Paul Maddox, Jagesh V Shah1, Arshad B Desai and Don W Cleveland
Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

To whom correspondence should be addressed
Don W Cleveland, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, 3080 CMM-East, University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. Tel.: +1 858 534 7811; Fax: +1 858 534 7659; E-mail: dcleveland@ucsd.edu

1 Present address: Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, 4 Blackfan Circle, Boston, MA 02115, USA

Received 22 July 2005; Accepted 30 September 2005; Published online 27 October 2005.
Abstract
Centromere protein F (CENP-F) (or mitosin) accumulates to become an abundant nuclear protein in G2, assembles at kinetochores in late G2, remains kinetochore-bound until anaphase, and is degraded at the end of mitosis. Here we show that the absence of nuclear CENP-F does not affect cell cycle progression in S and G2. In a subset of CENP-F depleted cells, kinetochore assembly fails completely, thereby provoking massive chromosome mis-segregation. In contrast, the majority of CENP-F depleted cells exhibit a strong mitotic delay with reduced tension between kinetochores of aligned, bi-oriented sister chromatids and decreased stability of kinetochore microtubules. These latter kinetochores generate mitotic checkpoint signaling when unattached, recruiting maximum levels of Mad2. Use of YFP-marked Mad1 reveals that throughout the mitotic delay some aligned, CENP-F depleted kinetochores continuously recruit Mad1. Others rebind YFP-Mad1 intermittently so as to produce 'twinkling', demonstrating cycles of mitotic checkpoint reactivation and silencing and a crucial role for CENP-F in efficient assembly of a stable microtubule–kinetochore interface.
Keywords: centromere associated protein CENP-F, kinetochore, Mad1, Mad2, microtubule
Top

MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS

These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated

NEWS AND VIEWS

Chromosomes walk the line

Nature Cell Biology News and Views (01 Apr 2006)

Cell division Burning the spindle at both ends

Nature News and Views (22 Jan 2004)

See all 5 matches for News And Views

Send to a friendEmail link to a friend
PDFDownload PDF
Full textFull text
Next article
Previous article
Table of contents
rights and permissionsRights and permissions
order commercial reprintsReprints
ToC alertRegister for table of contents by email
  Privacy policy Copyright © 2005 by the European Molecular Biology Organization