An interdependent Cbf1-CCAN interaction stabilizes the budding yeast kinetochore.

August 11, 2026| Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Chromosome segregation requires the proper assembly of kinetochores on centromeric DNA. The kinetochore is a complex multiprotein machine comprising more than 40 distinct proteins, but the functional roles of many components remain unclear. One such protein is the yeast transcription factor Cbf1, which directly binds to budding yeast centromeric DNA. Loss of Cbf1 significantly increases the rate of chromosome missegregation; however, its precise molecular mechanism of action is unknown. It was recently found that Cbf1 inhibits transcription through the centromere by preventing the untimely pericentromeric transcriptional readthrough via a roadblock mechanism. Intriguingly, restoring the transcriptional roadblock in the absence of Cbf1 binding only partially rescued chromosome missegregation, indicating that Cbf1 performs additional centromeric activities. Here, we show that Cbf1 promotes inner kinetochore assembly both in vitro and in vivo. This assembly function depends on the interface between Cbf1 and Okp1. Moreover, we found that Cbf1's stable association with the centromere requires its interaction with the inner kinetochore, revealing an interdependent interaction essential for the assembly and stability of the kinetochore. Thus, Cbf1 functions as a centromere-anchored hub that couples transcriptional roadblocking to constitutive centromere-associated network assembly and kinetochore stability.

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Extensive glacier loss in the coterminous United States.

Glaciers populate the mountain ranges of the western conterminous United States and despite their importance to alpine hydrology, their area and volume change have never been comprehensively evaluated. Our study shows that since the mid-twentieth century about one-quarter of the glaciers have disappeared and the overall area and volume are reduced by one-third. The pattern of glacier shrinkage suggests most glaciers in the conterminous United States are largely maintained by local topographic in

Physical/TechOctober 20, 2026

Reaction-based cryo-EM resolves the continuous conformational spectrum of CTP synthase catalysis.

Capturing enzymes under native turnover conditions remains a grand challenge in structural biology. Here, we develop a reaction-based cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) strategy that directly samples Drosophila melanogaster cytidine triphosphate synthase (CTPS) from actively catalyzing mixtures containing only natural substrates and allosteric effectors. By integrating reaction-based sampling with three-dimensional variability analysis, we resolve a continuous conformational spectrum of CTPS dur

Physical/TechOctober 20, 2026

GTP orchestrates CTP synthase via an allosteric effector-cycling mechanism.

Cytidine triphosphate (CTP), a fundamental building block of RNA, plays vital roles in diverse biological processes. CTP synthase (CTPS) is the only known enzyme for de novo synthesis of CTP. Efficient CTPS catalysis requires guanosine triphosphate (GTP) in a dose-dependent, nonconsumptive manner; however, the precise mechanism by which GTP drives CTP formation remains unclear. Here, we integrate a series of cryo-EM structures of Drosophila melanogaster CTPS captured from actively catalyzing sam

Physical/TechOctober 20, 2026

Antiferromagnetism and tightly bound Cooper pairs induced by kinetic frustration.

Antiferromagnetism and superconductivity are often viewed as competing orders in correlated electron systems. Here, we demonstrate that kinetic frustration in hole motion facilitates their coexistence within the square-lattice repulsive Hubbard model. Combining exact analytical solutions on tailored geometries with large-scale numerical simulations, we reveal a robust pairing mechanism: Holes on opposite sublattices behave as if they carry opposite effective charges due to spin singlet formation

Physical/TechOctober 20, 2026

Coordinated transformations of the labyrinth and occiput during the dinosaur-bird transition.

Evolutionary shape changes of the vertebrate semicircular canals (SCCs) are often ascribed to evolutionary transitions in locomotion, including the origin of flight during the dinosaur-bird transition. However, the potential for transformations of braincase architecture to influence SCC shape independent of sensory-functional adaptation has generally been overlooked. We evaluate the influence of both factors using a large dataset of 146 living and recently extinct crown birds, including taxa rep