
Photo credit : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1097276518300595#abs0010
Free the Condensin
Open chromatin must be compacted into distinct chromosomes during mitosis. Chromatin compaction is largely performed by the ring-shaped enzyme complex condensin which is so good at compacting chromatin that it has a tendency to trap itself within chromatin. However condensin is a highly mobile complex; which begs the question: how does condensin free it self from chromatin?
In their recent Molecular Cell paper the D'Amours lab answers this question. They identify the Cdc48 segregase as the factor that frees condensin from its self-imposed trap. Read the full story at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1097276518300595#abs0010