Nature Cell Biology
5, 1111 - 1116 (2003)
Published online: 16 November 2003; | doi:10.1038/ncb1069
Hsk1−Dfp1 is required for heterochromatin-mediated cohesion at centromeresJulie M. Bailis1, Pascal Bernard2, 3, Richard Antonelli2, 4, Robin C. Allshire2, 4
& Susan L. Forsburg11
Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. 2
MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK. 3
Institut de Biochimie et Génétique Cellulaires, CNRS, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5095, 1 Rue Camille Saint Saëns, 33077, Bordeaux Cedex, France. 4
The Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, ICMB, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JR, UK.
Correspondence should be addressed to Susan L. Forsburg forsburg@salk.eduHeterochromatin performs a central role in chromosome segregation and stability by promoting cohesion at centromeres1,
2. Establishment of both heterochromatin-mediated silencing and cohesion requires passage through S phase, although the mechanism is unknown3,
4. Here we demonstrate that Schizosaccharomyces pombe Hsk1 (CDC7), a conserved Dbf4-dependent protein kinase (DDK) that regulates replication initiation5, interacts with and phosphorylates the heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) equivalent Swi6 (ref. 6). Hsk1 and its regulatory subunit Dfp1 function downstream of Swi6 localization to promote heterochromatin function and cohesion specifically at centromeres. This role for Hsk1−Dfp1 is separable from its replication initiation activity, providing a temporal link between S phase and centromere cohesion that is mediated by heterochromatin.
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in epigenetic control of transcriptional silencing in fission yeast
