The paper uses mass spectrometry to analyze histone modifications during mitotic entry, identifying three phosphorylation programs and showing H3 T3 phosphorylation marks heterochromatin, not just centromeres.

Molecular Cell · Apr 23, 2026Peer-reviewedCell Biology

A bipartite mechanism for condensin II activation in mitosis

Damla Tetiker, Kumiko Samejima, Yan Li, David Schaumann, David Barford, Luís Aragón, William C. Earnshaw, Erin Cutts, Eugene Kim, Kyle Muir

This study identifies a bipartite mechanism for condensin II activation in mitosis, showing how M18BP1 relieves autoinhibition and enables DNA loop formation.

bioRxiv · Feb 16, 2026 · PreprintBiochemistry

Calyculin A Induces Premature Chromosome Condensation and Chromatin Compaction in G1-Phase HeLa Cells without Histone H1 Phosphorylation

Natalia Y. Kochanova, Matthieu Vermeren, Bram Prevo, Ipek Ustun, Shaun Webb, Linfeng Xie, William C. Earnshaw, James R. Paulson

bioRxiv · Jul 16, 2025 · PreprintCell Biology

Rules of engagement for condensins and cohesins guide mitotic chromosome formation

Kumiko Samejima, Johan Harmen Gibcus, Sameer Abraham, Fernanda Cisneros-Soberanis, Itaru Samejima, Alison J. Beckett, Nina Pucekova, Maria Alba Abad, Christos Spanos, Bethan Medina‐Pritchard, James R. Paulson, Linfeng Xie, Arockia Jeyaprakash Arulanandam, Ian A. Prior, Leonid A. Mirny, , William C. Earnshaw

In DT40 cells, condensins displace extrusive cohesin, bypass cohesive cohesin and stall against each other while extruding ~1-3 kb/sec, yielding irregular helical chromatids of consecutive loops.

Science · Apr 10, 2025Peer-reviewedMolecular Biology✦ In-depth digest

RNA methyltransferase SPOUT1/CENP-32 links mitotic spindle organization with the neurodevelopmental disorder SpADMiSS

Avinash V. Dharmadhikari, Maria Alba Abad, Reza Maroofian, Elena Kondakova, Alejandro D. Iglesias, Bernt Popp, Rami Abou Jamra, Daniel C. Koboldt, Amy Feldman Lewanda, Pengfei Liu, Dana Marafi, Jennifer Ellen Posey, Erin L. Heinzen, David B. Goldstein, Cyril Mignot, , Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Medicina

The paper identifies SPOUT1/CENP-32 as a causative gene for SpADMiSS, linking its dysfunction to mitotic spindle defects and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Nature Communications · Feb 17, 2025Peer-reviewedGenetic & Genomic Medicine

Organisation of axial regions of isolated mitotic chromosomes visualised by cryo correlative light and electron tomography

Gurudatt Patra, Mohamad Harastani, Kumiko Samejima, Lucy Remnant, N. Troffer-Charlier, Corrine Crucifix, Alexandre Durand, N. Marechal, Yves Lutz, Anna M. Steyer, Zhengyi Yang, Wim J. H. Hagen, William C. Earnshaw, Mikhail Eltsov

The paper uses cryo-CLEM to visualize and analyze the ultrastructural organization of mitotic chromosomes, identifying non-histone macromolecular densities and surface particle clusters.

bioRxiv · Feb 6, 2025 · PreprintCell Biology

Analysis of Complex DNA Rearrangements During Early Stages of HAC Formation

Elisa Pesenti, Mikhail A. Liskovykh, Koei Okazaki, Alessio Mallozzi, Caitlin Reid, Maria Alba Abad, A. Arockia Jeyaprakash, Natalay Kouprina, Vladimir Larionov, Hiroshi Masumoto, William C. Earnshaw

This study tracks DNA rearrangements during HAC formation and finds that early stages involve DNA shredding and shuffling similar to chromothripsis.

ACS Synthetic Biology · Dec 8, 2020Peer-reviewedSynthetic Biology

Common fragile sites are characterised by faulty condensin loading after replication stress

Lora Boteva, Ryu‐Suke Nozawa, Catherine Naughton, Kumiko Samejima, William C. Earnshaw, Nick Gilbert

The paper shows that common fragile sites (CFSs) have faulty condensin loading leading to chromatin instability and mitotic DNA synthesis during replication stress.

bioRxiv · May 12, 2020 · PreprintMolecular Biology

Mitotic chromosomes fold by condensin-dependent helical winding of chromatin loop arrays

Johan Harmen Gibcus, Kumiko Samejima, Anton A. Goloborodko, Itaru Samejima, Natalia Naumova, Masato T. Kanemaki, Linfeng Xie, James R. Paulson, William C. Earnshaw, Leonid A. Mirny, Job Dekker

The paper shows mitotic chromosomes form through condensin-mediated disassembly of interphase chromatin and helical winding of loop arrays during prophase and prometaphase.

bioRxiv · Apr 20, 2018 · PreprintGenomics