title: Endogenous transcription at the centromere facilitates centromere activity in budding yeast.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The centromere (CEN) DNA-kinetochore complex is the specialized chromatin structure that mediates chromosome attachment to the spindle and is required for high-fidelity chromosome segregation. Although kinetochore function is conserved from budding yeast to humans, it was thought that transcription had no role in centromere function in budding yeast, in contrast to other eukaryotes including fission yeast.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report here that transcription at the centromere facilitates centromere activity in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We identified transcripts at CEN DNA and found that Cbf1, which is a transcription factor that binds to CEN DNA, is required for transcription at CEN DNA. Chromosome instability of cbf1Δ cells is suppressed by transcription driven from an artificial promoter. Furthermore, we have identified Ste12, which is a transcription factor, and Dig1, a Ste12 inhibitor, as a novel CEN-associated protein complex by an in vitro kinetochore assembly system. Dig1 represses Ste12-dependent transcription at the centromere.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our studies reveal that transcription at the centromere plays an important role in centromere function in budding yeast.
authors: Center for Childhood Cancer, The Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 43205, USA.
authors: Kentaro
authors: K
authors: Ohkuni
authors: Katsumi
authors: K
authors: Kitagawa
mesh_terms: D051778:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002503:Centromere / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D018386:Kinetochores / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D051778:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors; C064042:CBF1 protein, S cerevisiae; C102297:DIG1 protein, S cerevisiae; C489241:STE12 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors