title: Condensins: organizing and segregating the genome.
abstract: Condensins are multi-subunit protein complexes that play a central role in mitotic chromosome assembly and segregation. The complexes contain 'structural maintenance of chromosomes' (SMC) ATPase subunits, and induce DNA supercoiling and looping in an ATP-hydrolysis-dependent manner in vitro. Vertebrate cells have two different condensin complexes, condensins I and II, each containing a unique set of regulatory subunits. Condensin II participates in an early stage of chromosome condensation within the prophase nucleus. Condensin I gains access to chromosomes only after the nuclear envelope breaks down, and collaborates with condensin II to assemble metaphase chromosomes with fully resolved sister chromatids. The complexes also play critical roles in meiotic chromosome segregation and in interphase processes such as gene repression and checkpoint responses. In bacterial cells, ancestral forms of condensins control chromosome dynamics. Dissecting the diverse functions of condensins is likely to be central to our understanding of genome organization, stability and evolution.
authors.affiliation: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA. hirano@cshl.edu
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirano
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D020090:Chromosome Segregation / Q000502:physiology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D016678:Genome; D018386:Kinetochores / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; C108312:condensin complexes; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases