{"id":25678,"date":"2011-06-17T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-17T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?p=25678"},"modified":"2024-11-14T16:30:02","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T15:30:02","slug":"keeping-it-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping it together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As any rock-climber knows, trailing a long length of rope behind you is not easy. A dangling length of rope is unwieldy and hard to manoeuvre, and can get tangled up or stuck on an outcropping. Cells face the same problem when dragging chromosomes apart during cell division. The chromosomes are pulled by their middle \u2013 the centromere \u2013 their arms trailing along behind. Just like climbers carry their rope coiled up, cells make the chromosome arms easier to pull by folding them into short, stiffer structures. In a study published online today in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology<\/em>, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered how a protein complex called condensin keeps chromosome arms folded and easy-to-transport, potentially acting as a cord-stopper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the first step towards understanding how the largest molecule in the cell can be organised into something that can be handled during cell division\u201d says Christian H\u00e4ring, who led the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara Cuylen<\/a>, a PhD student in H\u00e4ring\u2019s lab<\/a>, first discovered that, in the test tube, condensin forms a ring around the DNA in a chromosome arm. After confirming that it does the same in live yeast cells, Cuylen cut the condensin rings open. She found that the centromeres still moved as expected, but the chromosome arms lagged behind, preventing the cell from dividing properly. It seems the condensin ring encircles two different regions of a chromosome arm, like a cord-stopper bringing together a looped length of rope. The condensin ring can slide along the DNA \u2018rope\u2019 to some extent, but the EMBL scientists also found evidence that, like a cord-stopper when the button is released, condensin may also be able to stop sliding, attaching itself to specific parts of the chromosome arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, H\u00e4ring and colleagues plan to investigate just how chromosome arms are looped into and released from condensin rings. The whole process is likely to be the same in our own cells, the scientists say, as the overall architecture of our condensin and chromosomes is the same as yeast\u2019s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As any rock-climber knows, trailing a long length of rope behind you is not easy. A dangling length of rope is unwieldy and hard to manoeuvre, and can get tangled up or stuck on an outcropping. Cells face the same problem when dragging chromosomes apart during cell division. The chromosomes are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":25686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17591],"tags":[50,66,535,575,1970,537,422,1748,768],"embl_taxonomy":[5138,19111],"class_list":["post-25678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","category-science-technology","tag-biochemistry","tag-cell-division","tag-chromosome","tag-condensin","tag-cuylen","tag-dna","tag-haering","tag-press-release","tag-yeast","embl_taxonomy-cell-biology-and-biophysics","embl_taxonomy-sara-cuylen-haring"],"acf":{"show_featured_image":false,"vf_locked":false,"featured":false,"article_intro":"

\u2018Cord-stopper\u2019 protein complex makes chromosomes easier to move<\/p>\n","article_sources":[{"source_description":"

Cuylen, S., Metz, J. & Haering, C.H. Condensin structures chromosomal DNA through topological links, Nature Structural and Molecular Biology<\/em>, Advance Online Publication 17 July 2011. DOI:10.1038\/nsmb.2087.<\/p>\n","source_link_url":"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/nsmb.2087"}],"related_links":false,"in_this_article":false,"color":"#007B53","youtube_url":"","mp4_url":"","video_caption":"","press_contact":"EMBL Generic","field_target_display":"embl","source_article":false},"embl_taxonomy_terms":[{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"7ca3ce91-dc32-47ea-8d4b-7a53c3a3a9fd\";i:2;s:36:\"64999cc4-9a7c-4fea-8339-0e2acc990e08\";}","parents":[],"name":["Cell biology and biophysics"],"slug":"cell-biology-and-biophysics","description":"What > Research Units > Cell biology and biophysics"},{"uuid":"a:2:{i:0;s:36:\"4428d1fd-441a-4d6d-a1c5-5dcf5665f213\";i:1;s:36:\"ef3ac93a-528f-4037-a44f-c6f9de189325\";}","parents":[],"name":["Sara Cuylen-H\u00e4ring"],"slug":"sara-cuylen-haring","description":"Who > Sara Cuylen-H\u00e4ring"}],"yoast_head":"\nKeeping it together | EMBL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"EMBL scientists have discovered how a protein complex called condensin makes chromosomes easier to move, acting potentially as a cord-stopper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Keeping it together | EMBL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"EMBL scientists have discovered how a protein complex called condensin makes chromosomes easier to move, acting potentially as a cord-stopper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMBL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-06-17T05:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-14T15:30:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"621\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guest author(s)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@embl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@embl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest author(s)\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Guest author(s)\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b4d9366b2ebe691c4015c64c3619205b\"},\"headline\":\"Keeping it together\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-06-17T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-14T15:30:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/\"},\"wordCount\":349,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"biochemistry\",\"cell division\",\"chromosome\",\"condensin\",\"cuylen\",\"dna\",\"haering\",\"press release\",\"yeast\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Science\",\"Science & Technology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/\",\"name\":\"Keeping it together | EMBL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-06-17T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-14T15:30:02+00:00\",\"description\":\"EMBL scientists have discovered how a protein complex called condensin makes chromosomes easier to move, acting potentially as a cord-stopper\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":621,\"caption\":\"Condensin loops around several strands of DNA, keeping it coiled up and easier to transport (Artistic impression). Image credits: EMBL\/ P. Riedinger\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"European Molecular Biology Laboratory News\",\"description\":\"News from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"EMBL News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"European Molecular Biology Laboratory\",\"alternateName\":\"EMBL\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":144,\"caption\":\"European Molecular Biology Laboratory\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/embl\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embl_org\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/15813\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/emblmedia\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b4d9366b2ebe691c4015c64c3619205b\",\"name\":\"Guest author(s)\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/300b9a1d66050ae03eaeb99869c6ebb30f5184b9468e92a2b3e7d28bc9cf742d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/300b9a1d66050ae03eaeb99869c6ebb30f5184b9468e92a2b3e7d28bc9cf742d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest author(s)\"},\"description\":\"Guest author(s)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/author\/guest-author\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Keeping it together | EMBL","description":"EMBL scientists have discovered how a protein complex called condensin makes chromosomes easier to move, acting potentially as a cord-stopper","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Keeping it together | EMBL","og_description":"EMBL scientists have discovered how a protein complex called condensin makes chromosomes easier to move, acting potentially as a cord-stopper","og_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/","og_site_name":"EMBL","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/","article_published_time":"2011-06-17T05:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-11-14T15:30:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":621,"url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Guest author(s)","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@embl","twitter_site":"@embl","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest author(s)","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/"},"author":{"name":"Guest author(s)","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b4d9366b2ebe691c4015c64c3619205b"},"headline":"Keeping it together","datePublished":"2011-06-17T05:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-14T15:30:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/"},"wordCount":349,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg","keywords":["biochemistry","cell division","chromosome","condensin","cuylen","dna","haering","press release","yeast"],"articleSection":["Science","Science & Technology"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/","name":"Keeping it together | EMBL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg","datePublished":"2011-06-17T05:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-14T15:30:02+00:00","description":"EMBL scientists have discovered how a protein complex called condensin makes chromosomes easier to move, acting potentially as a cord-stopper","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/keeping-it-together\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg","width":800,"height":621,"caption":"Condensin loops around several strands of DNA, keeping it coiled up and easier to transport (Artistic impression). Image credits: EMBL\/ P. Riedinger"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/","name":"European Molecular Biology Laboratory News","description":"News from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization"},"alternateName":"EMBL News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#organization","name":"European Molecular Biology Laboratory","alternateName":"EMBL","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMBL_logo_colour-1-300x144-1.png","width":300,"height":144,"caption":"European Molecular Biology Laboratory"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embl.org\/","https:\/\/x.com\/embl","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embl_org\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/15813\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/emblmedia\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b4d9366b2ebe691c4015c64c3619205b","name":"Guest author(s)","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/300b9a1d66050ae03eaeb99869c6ebb30f5184b9468e92a2b3e7d28bc9cf742d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/300b9a1d66050ae03eaeb99869c6ebb30f5184b9468e92a2b3e7d28bc9cf742d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Guest author(s)"},"description":"Guest author(s)","url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/author\/guest-author\/"}]}},"field_target_display":"embl","field_article_language":{"value":"english","label":"English"},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/condensin-loops.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25678"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49594,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25678\/revisions\/49594"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25678"},{"taxonomy":"embl_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/embl_taxonomy?post=25678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}