The centromere, a chromosome locus defined by the histone H3–like protein centromeric protein A (CENP-A), promotes assembly of the kinetochore to bind microtubules during cell division. Centromere maintenance requires CENP-A to be actively replenished by dedicated protein machinery in the early G 1 phase of the cell cycle to compensate for its dilution after DNA replication. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) limit CENP-A deposition to once per cell cycle and function as negative regulators outside of early G 1 . Antithetically, Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) promotes CENP-A deposition in early G 1 , but the molecular details of this process are still unknown. We reveal here a phosphorylation network that recruits PLK1 to the deposition machinery to control a conformational switch required for licensing the CENP-A deposition reaction. Our findings clarify how PLK1 contributes to the epigenetic maintenance of centromeres.

中文翻译：

---

蛋白激酶 PLK1 在着丝粒表观遗传维持中的作用


着丝粒是由组蛋白 H3 样蛋白着丝粒蛋白 A (CENP-A) 定义的染色体位点，在细胞分裂过程中促进动粒组装以结合微管。着丝粒的维持需要 CENP-A 在细胞周期的早期 G 1 期由专用蛋白质机器主动补充，以补偿 DNA 复制后的稀释。细胞周期蛋白依赖性激酶 (CDK) 将 CENP-A 沉积限制为每个细胞周期一次，并在早期 G 1 之外充当负调节因子。相反，Polo 样激酶 1 (PLK1) 促进早期 G 1 中的 CENP-A 沉积，但该过程的分子细节仍不清楚。我们在这里揭示了一个磷酸化网络，它将 PLK1 招募到沉积机器中，以控制许可 CENP-A 沉积反应所需的构象开关。我们的研究结果阐明了 PLK1 如何促进着丝粒的表观遗传维持。