The central aim of cell division is the accurate transmission of replicated genetic material to daughter cells. To enable this segregation, centimetre-long DNA molecules must be organised into condensed micrometre-sized chromosomes. This critical but poorly understood process is principally effected by the chromosomal condensin complex. Condensin is a multisubunit protein complex, comprising a core dimer of ATPases of the structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) family. However, the role of the condensin ATPase in chromosome condensation has remained unclear. Using specific structure-based point mutations, along with quantitative measurements of chromosome condensation, and novel conditional alleles of condensin in the eukaryotic model budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, I show that the ATPase activity of condensin is crucial for its function. Mutations in the ATPase domain alter the dynamic DNA binding properties of condensin, and compromise its ability to form compact mitotic chromosomes. Taken together, these results shed light on critical events in the assembly and faithful segregation of mitotic chromosomes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:634708 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Thadani, R. R. |
| Publisher | University College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1458355/ |
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