This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Centromeres are functionally specialized chromosomal regions essential for chromosome segregation in all eukaryotes. In mitosis, centromeres direct the assembly of kinetochores, proteinacious structures that mediate attachment of chromosomes to spindle microtubules. Centromeric chromatin universally features nucleosomes containing the histone H3 variant CENP-A, which is required for localization of all known kinetochore components. Recent data suggest that CENP-A nucleosomes are positioned between histone H3 nucleosomes and that a specific set of histone modifications is present in CENP-A chromatin. Little is known about the spatial organization of nucleosomes in CENP-A chromatin and about the factors governing centromere specification. I propose to use the early C.elegans embryo as a metazoan model system to nucleosome and histone distribution and regulation.
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