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Centromere dynamics in the primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae
Author(s) -
Maruyama Shinichiro,
Kuroiwa Haruko,
Miyagishima Shinya,
Tanaka Kan,
Kuroiwa Tsuneyoshi
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the plant journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.058
H-Index - 269
eISSN - 1365-313X
pISSN - 0960-7412
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-313x.2006.03024.x
Subject(s) - evolutionary biology , centromere , dynamics (music) , biology , genetics , physics , chromosome , gene , acoustics
Summary Centromeres are universally conserved functional units in eukaryotic linear chromosomes, but little is known about the structure and dynamics of the centromere in lower photosynthetic eukaryotes. Here we report the identification of a centromere marker protein CENH3 and visualization of centromere dynamics in the ultra‐small primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae . Immunoblotting and immunofluorescence microscopy showed that CENH3 increased rapidly during S phase, followed by a drastic reconstitution into two discrete foci adjacent to the spindle poles at metaphase, suggesting the cell‐cycle‐regulated expression of CENH3. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed that the CENH3 signals were associated with the nuclear envelope, implying interplay between the kinetochore complex and the nuclear envelope. These results demonstrate dynamic centromere reconstitution during the cell cycle in an organism in which the chromosomes do not condense at metaphase.