Evolutionary conservation between budding yeast and human kinetochores

The kinetochore (centromere DNA and associated proteins) and its regulating system are essential for segregating chromosomes during mitosis. The kinetochore provides the site of attachment to the mitotic spindle, and is also the site at which completion of metaphase is sensed by the cell-cycle regulatory machinery to coordinate the synchronous separation of chromosomes at the onset of anaphase. The kinetochore of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the best characterized. This review describes the current state of knowledge of how the kinetochore is conserved between budding yeast and humans by looking at individual kinetochore components and considers them as three sets of subcomponents: first, the chromosomal DNA–inner kinetochore protein interface; second, the inner kinetochore–mitotic spindle interface; and last, the kinetochore protein–cell-cycle regulatory machinery interface. The authors conclude that molecular understanding of the less complex budding yeast kinetochore provides an excellent framework for understanding the more complex kinetochores of humans. Furthermore, evidence indicates that the kinetochore and its regulating system are indeed highly conserved between budding yeast and humans, and research into the budding yeast should continue to reveal additional conserved functions at the kinetochore.