About the Cover
Centromeres and their associated organelles, kinetochores, mediate key aspects of chromosome movement and function. Little is known, however, about plant kinetochores and how they generate and regulate chromosome movement. On pages 1227-1238, Dawe et al. report the identification of three maize homologs of centromere protein C (CENPC), which is required for kinetochore function in mammals. Dawe et al. use specific antibodies to demonstrate that the maize CENPC homolog is a constitutive kinetochore protein and that kinetochores undergo a biphasic separation process during meiosis. Dawe et al. also use these antibodies to show that CENPC does not colocalize with heterochromatic structures termed neocentromeres, which appear to be involved in chromosome movement in cells carrying an abnormal maize chromosome 10. This point is illustrated on the cover, which shows CENPC in pink, chromosomes in green, and the microtubules of the spindle in blue.
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Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Plant Biologists
