Preferential binding of hog brain microtubule-associated proteins to mouse satellite versus bulk DNA preparations

MICROTUBULES, as major constituents of the mitotic spindle, have been implicated in chromosome movement. It is not known, however, whether spindle microtubules interact directly with chromosome components. An electron microscopically distinct structure, the kinetochore, has been characterised as the chromosome-associated focus of microtubules that connect the chromosome to the spindle pole (see ref. 1 for review). However, very little is known about the nature of the kinetochore constituents and the possible interaction mechanisms2. We show here that microtubule-associated proteins bind preferentially to satellite DNA sequences in the eukaryotic chromosome.Peer reviewe