Chromosome duplication and segregation in the cell division cycle

To maintain genetic integrity, eukaryotic cells must duplicate their chromosomes and then segregate them to their daughter cells with high fidelity during each cell division cycle. The unravelling of the mechanisms ensuring these processes should improve our understanding of various human diseases such as cancers and congenital disorders, which are characterized by chromosome instability and aneuploidy.

For our studies, we use budding yeast because of the amenable genetics and detailed proteomic information available for this organism. Overwhelming evidence suggests that the basic mechanisms of chromosome regulation are well conserved from yeast to humans. Budding yeast is therefore an excellent model organism for the study of chromosome duplication and segregation.