title: Structure of the CENP-A nucleosome and its implications for centromeric chromatin architecture.
abstract: Centromeres are dictated by the epigenetic inheritance of the centromeric nucleosome containing the centromere-specific histone H3 variant, CENP-A. The structure of the CENP-A nucleosome has been considered to be the fundamental architecture of the centromeric chromatin. Controversy exists in the literature regarding the CENP-A nucleosome structures, with octasome, hemisome, compact octasome, hexasome, and tetrasome models being reported. Some of these CENP-A nucleosome models may correspond to transient intermediates for the assembly of the mature CENP-A nucleosome; however, their significances are still unclear. Therefore, the structure of the mature CENP-A nucleosome has been eagerly awaited. We reconstituted the human CENP-A nucleosome with its cognate centromeric DNA fragment, and determined its crystal structure. In this review, we describe the structure and the physical properties of the CENP-A nucleosome, and discuss their implications for centromeric chromatin architecture.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Structural Biology, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tachiwana
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kurumizaka
mesh_terms: D001324:Autoantigens / Q000737:chemistry*; D001665:Binding Sites; D002503:Centromere / Q000737:chemistry*; D000076247:Centromere Protein A; D002843:Chromatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000737:chemistry*; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009707:Nucleosomes / Q000737:chemistry*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001324:Autoantigens; C000619700:CENPA protein, human; D000076247:Centromere Protein A; D002843:Chromatin; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D006657:Histones; D009707:Nucleosomes; D014157:Transcription Factors; D004247:DNA