Fig. 2
From: CENP-A: the key player behind centromere identity, propagation, and kinetochore assembly
Compacted CENP-A chromatin promotes kinetochore assembly and centromere propagation. An inactive centromere, which is a chromosomal locus having alpha-satellite sequence without CENP-A protein, demonstrated that centromeric sequence is not sufficient for kinetochore assembly. Kinetochore proteins are recruited to this chromosomal locus only when CENP-A is present (active centromere) (Warburton et al. 1997). Conversely, when CENP-A is overexpressed in cells, it incorporates on chromosome arms. However, this mislocalized CENP-A does not recruit kinetochore proteins in mitosis. Ultimately, by targeting CENP-A on chromosome arms using the lac operon technique, this creates a high-density array of CENP-A protein and forms a neocentromere: it recruits kinetochore components and is able to propagate for a limited time. Those observations suggest that CENP-A density is important for centromere identity and its essential role of kinetochore assembly