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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Jul 2.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Cell Biol. 2009 Jun 14;11(7):832–838. doi: 10.1038/ncb1890

Figure 5. K-fibres are needed to maintain chromosome alignment.

Figure 5

(a) Triple labelled HeLa cells were analysed for chromosome movement at 30 s intervals after congression in hNuf2+HSET double RNAi cells. The timestamp is shown in the upper left panel of each panel, and white and yellow arrowheads point to two distinct unstable chromosomes that move off the metaphase plate and then congress back to the metaphase plate. (b) Kinetochore movements were tracked in cells with disrupted K-fibres at 3 s intervals during congression in hNuf2+HSET RNAi cells. The yellow arrowhead corresponds to a chromosome that displays a rapid movement away from and back toward the metaphase plate. (c) Model diagramming the different pathways by which chromosomes congress to the metaphase plate. Chromosome 1 (purple) exhibits rapid lateral movement toward the spindle pole and then becomes bi-oriented and congresses through activities at its kinetochore (2) or its chromosome arms (3). Alternatively, chromosome 1 (light yellow) can congress via the mono-oriented pathway (4). Our data suggest that chromosomes (blue) do not need to be specifically oriented but are still able to congress on any stabilised MT bundle (5).