Sister chromatid cohesion is mediated by individual cohesin complexes. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38452070/)

These scientists wanted to understand how a special protein complex called cohesin helps to keep DNA organized in our cells. They were particularly interested in how cohesin is involved in holding together two copies of DNA called sister chromatids. They used a very powerful microscope that can see things in great detail to study cohesin in human cells after the cells had copied their DNA.

What they found was that there are two different types of cohesin complexes in the cells. Most of the cohesin complexes were like pairs of the protein sticking together, while the ones that were specifically involved in holding the sister chromatids together were single proteins. This tells us that these single cohesin proteins are the ones responsible for keeping the two copies of DNA together.

By learning more about how cohesin works, scientists hope to understand better why some females have trouble having babies as they get older.

Ochs F., Green C., Szczurek AT., Pytowski L., Kolesnikova S., Brown J., Gerlich DW., Buckle V., Schermelleh L., Nasmyth KA. Sister chromatid cohesion is mediated by individual cohesin complexes. Science. 2024 Mar 8;383(6687):1122-1130. doi: 10.1126/science.adl4606. Epub 2024 Mar 7.