The mitotic chromosome is an assembly of rigid elastic axes organized by structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) proteins and surrounded by a soft chromatin envelope

Almagro, S., Riveline, D., Hirano, T., Houchmandzadeh, B., Dimitrov, S. (February 2004) The mitotic chromosome is an assembly of rigid elastic axes organized by structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) proteins and surrounded by a soft chromatin envelope. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 279 (7). pp. 5118-5126. ISSN 0021-9258

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14660618
DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M307221200

Abstract

The structure of mitotic chromosomes is still poorly understood. Here we describe the use of a novel approach based on elasticity measurements of a single chromosome for studying the organization of these objects. The data reveal that mitotic chromosomes exhibit a non-homogenous structure consisting of rigid elastic axes surrounded by a soft chromatin envelope. The chemical continuity of DNA, but not RNA, was required for the maintenance of these axes. The axes show a modular structure, and the structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) proteins participate in their organization. Topoisomerase II was not involved in either the organization of the axes or the maintenance of the mitotic chromosomes. A model for the assembly and the structure of the mitotic chromosome is proposed. According this model, the chromosome axes are dynamic structures that assemble at the onset and disassemble the end of mitosis, respectively. The SMC proteins, in addition to maintaining axis elasticity, are essential for the determination of the rod-like chromosome shape. The extreme compaction of mitotic chromosomes is determined mainly by the high amount of bivalent ions bound to DNA at mitosis.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: HIGHER-ORDER STRUCTURE TOPOISOMERASE-II CONDENSATION XENOPUS SCAFFOLD COMPONENT COMPLEXES PLAY DNA
Subjects: bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > Chromatin dynamics
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > chromosome
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > chromosomes, structure and function > chromosome
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > chromosomes, structure and function
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Hirano lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: February 2004
Date Deposited: 04 Mar 2013 22:09
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2013 22:09
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/27688

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