Question

What is the role of cohesin complexes in species?

Answer 1

Cohesin : It is a chromosome-associated multi sub-unit protein complex that is highly conserved in eukaryotes and has close homologs in bacteria.

Role of cohesin:

1. Cohesin mediates cohesion between replicated sister chromatids and is therefore essential for chromosome segregation in dividing cells.
2. Mitosis and meiosis are essential processes that occur during development.
3. Throughout these processes, cohesion is required to keep the sister chromatids together until their separation at anaphase. Cohesion is created by multi-protein sub-unit complexes called cohesins.
4. The regulation of chromosome condensation may depend in some species on sister-chromatid cohesion.
5. In budding yeast, where cohesin is bound to chromosome arms all through early mitosis, mutation of cohesin leads to defects in chromosome condensation.
6. In this species, therefore, cohesin complexes are required for the normal function of condensin, perhaps because they stimulate condensin activation.
7. This does not seem to be the case in vertebrates, however, where most of the cohesin is removed from chromosome arms as they condense, and where experimental removal of cohesins has only minor effects on chromosome compaction.