The BioGRID | PUBLICATION VIEW

	J. Mol. Biol. Nov (2008); 383(4):894-903
Architecture and flexibility of the yeast Ndc80 kinetochore complex-
Wang HW, Long S, Ciferri C, Westermann S, Drubin D, Barnes G, Nogales E
Life Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA-
Abstract: Kinetochores mediate microtubule-chromosome attachment and ensure accurate segregation of sister chromatids- The highly conserved Ndc80 kinetochore complex makes direct contacts with the microtubule and is essential for spindle checkpoint signaling- It contains a long coiled-coil region with globular domains at each end involved in kinetochore localization and microtubule binding, respectively- We have directly visualized the architecture of the yeast Ndc80 complex and found a dramatic kink within the 560-A coiled-coil rod located about 160 A from the larger globular head- Comparison of our electron microscopy images to the structure of the human Ndc80 complex allowed us to position the kink proximal to the microtubule-binding end and to define the conformational range of the complex- The position of the kink coincides with a coiled-coil breaking region conserved across eukaryotes- We hypothesize that the kink in Ndc80 is essential for correct kinetochore geometry and could be part of a tension-sensing mechanism at the kinetochore-
[PUBMED: 18793650]