Regulatory subunit of the condensin-2 complex, a complex that seems to provide chromosomes with an additional level of organization and rigidity and in establishing mitotic chromosome architecture. May play a role in lineage-specific role in T-cell development (By similarity).
The canonical condensin complex (henceforth condensin I) plays an essential role in mitotic chromosome assembly and segregation from yeast to humans. We report here the identification of a second condensin complex (condensin II) from vertebrate cells. Condensins I and II share the same pair of structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) subunits but contain different sets of non-SMC subunits. siRNA-mediated depletion of condensin I- or condensin II-specific subunits in HeLa cells produces a distinct, highly characteristic defect in chromosome morphology. Simultaneous depletion of both complexes causes the severest defect. In Xenopus egg extracts, condensin I function is predominant, but lack of condensin II results in the formation of irregularly shaped chromosomes. Condensins I and II show different distributions along the axis of chromosomes assembled in vivo and in vitro. We propose that the two condensin complexes make distinct mechanistic contributions to mitotic chromosome architecture in vertebrate cells.
The progressive compaction of dispersed interphase chromatin into threadlike chromosomes prior to mitotic or meiotic nuclear division, or during apoptosis, in eukaryotic cells.
Protein involved in DNA condensation. In most eukaryotes, the chromosomal packing involves the wrapping of DNA around a core of histones to form nucleosomes. Adjacent nucleosomes are packaged together via Histone 1 and nucleosomes are organised into a 30 nm chromatin fibre. DNA condensation takes place as cells enter mitosis or when germ cells enter meiosis.
A reference proteome is a set of protein sequences derived from a complete proteome which constitutes a defined standard for a particular user community. Reference proteomes are manually defined according to a number of criteria. They cover the proteomes of well- studied model organisms and other proteomes of interest for biomedical and biotechnological research. Reference proteomes have been selected to provide broad coverage of the tree of life, and constitute a representative cross-section of the taxonomic diversity to be found within UniProtKB.