Persistent mechanical linkage between sister chromatids throughout anaphase

In budding yeast, we have found that sister rDNA arrays marked with fluorescent probes can be visualized as two distinguishable strands during metaphase. Upon anaphase, these arm loci are drawn into the spindle, where they adopt a cruciform-like structure and stretch 2.5-fold as they migrate to the poles. Therefore, while sister rDNA arrays appear separated in metaphase, mechanical linkages between sister arm loci persist throughout anaphase in yeast, as shown in grasshopper spermatocytes (Paliulis and Nicklas 2004). These linkages are partially dependent on the protector of cohesin, SGO1. In anaphase, the spatially regulated dissolution of these mechanical linkages serves to prevent premature sister separation and restrain the rate of spindle elongation. Thus, sister separation is temporally controlled and linkages between sister chromatids contribute to the regulation of anaphase spindle elongation.