Article abstract

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 15, 972 - 979 (2008)
Published online: 17 August 2008 | doi:10.1038/nsmb.1470

The HP1–p150/CAF-1 interaction is required for pericentric heterochromatin replication and S-phase progression in mouse cells

Jean-Pierre Quivy1,2, Annabelle Gérard1,2, Adam J L Cook1, Danièle Roche1 & Geneviève Almouzni1

The heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1)-rich heterochromatin domains next to centromeres are crucial for chromosome segregation during mitosis. This mitotic function requires their faithful reproduction during the preceding S phase, a process whose mechanism and regulation are current puzzles. Here we show that p150, a subunit of chromatin assembly factor 1, has a key role in the replication of pericentric heterochromatin and S-phase progression in mouse cells, independently of its known function in histone deposition. By a combination of depletion and complementation assays in vivo, we link this unique function of p150 to its ability to interact with HP1. Absence of this functional interaction triggers S-phase arrest at the time of replication of pericentromeric heterochromatin, without eliciting known DNA-based checkpoint pathways. Notably, in cells lacking the histone methylases Suv39h, in which pericentric domains do not show HP1 accumulation, p150 is dispensable for S-phase progression.

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  1. Institut Curie, Centre de Recherche, UMR218 du CNRS, 26, rue d'Ulm, 75248 Paris cedex 05, France.
  2. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence to: Geneviève Almouzni1 e-mail: genevieve.almouzni@curie.fr



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