Aaron Straight
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor, Biochemistry
- Member, Bio-X
- Member, Cancer Center
Contact Information
-
Academic Offices
Personal Information Email
Professional Snapshot
Postdoctoral Advisees
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Web Site Links
Scientific Focus
Research Interests
Our goal is to understand how chromosomes are faithfully transmitted during cell division. The laboratory studies the structure and biology of chromosomes and the mechanisms of chromosome segregation during mitosis. The primary site for chromosomal interaction with the mitotic spindle is a specialized region of the chromosome called the kinetochore. We are studying how the position of the kinetochore is determined along the length of the chromosome, how kinetochores are assembled, and how kinetochores are activated to bind microtubules and produce forces for chromosome segregation. We use digital microscopy to extract quantitative information about the dynamics of chromosomes in living cells, biochemical reconstitution to assemble kinetochores in vitro, and genetics to manipulate the chromosome segregation process in order to study how chromosome-distribution systems function in eukaryotes.
Publications
- Dissection of CENP-C-directed centromere and kinetochore assembly. Mol Biol Cell. 2009; (19): 4246-55
- Centromere assembly requires the direct recognition of CENP-A nucleosomes by CENP-N. Nat Cell Biol. 2009; (7): 896-902
- Genome-wide analysis reveals a cell cycle-dependent mechanism controlling centromere propagation. J Cell Biol. 2008; (5): 805-18
- Fluorescent protein applications in microscopy. Methods Cell Biol. 2007: 93-113
- Centromeric chromatin gets loaded. J Cell Biol. 2007; (6): 735-6
Help
Internal Staff Login