CENP-A and CENP-B collaborate to create an open centromeric chromatin state

Harsh Nagpal, Ahmad Ali-Ahmad, Yasuhiro Hirano, Wei Cai, Mario Halic, Tatsuo Fukagawa, Nikolina Sekulić () and Beat Fierz ()
Additional contact information
Harsh Nagpal: SB ISIC LCBM
Ahmad Ali-Ahmad: University of Oslo
Yasuhiro Hirano: Osaka University
Wei Cai: SB ISIC LCBM
Mario Halic: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Tatsuo Fukagawa: Osaka University
Nikolina Sekulić: University of Oslo
Beat Fierz: SB ISIC LCBM

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: Abstract Centromeres are epigenetically defined via the presence of the histone H3 variant CENP-A. Contacting CENP-A nucleosomes, the constitutive centromere associated network (CCAN) and the kinetochore assemble, connecting the centromere to spindle microtubules during cell division. The DNA-binding centromeric protein CENP-B is involved in maintaining centromere stability and, together with CENP-A, shapes the centromeric chromatin state. The nanoscale organization of centromeric chromatin is not well understood. Here, we use single-molecule fluorescence and cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM) to show that CENP-A incorporation establishes a dynamic and open chromatin state. The increased dynamics of CENP-A chromatin create an opening for CENP-B DNA access. In turn, bound CENP-B further opens the chromatin fiber structure and induces nucleosomal DNA unwrapping. Finally, removal of CENP-A increases CENP-B mobility in cells. Together, our studies show that the two centromere-specific proteins collaborate to reshape chromatin structure, enabling the binding of centromeric factors and establishing a centromeric chromatin state.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43739-5 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-43739-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43739-5

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().