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Wadsworth Scientist Earns "Exceptional" Rating for Publication

A paper published in the journal Nature by cell biologist Dr. Alexey Khodjakov was deemed "exceptional" by the Faculty of 1000 Biology, an online research service that assigns ratings to the most interesting papers in a given field. Only landmark papers representing the top 1% of publications are designated exceptional.

The rankings are based on a consensus of recommendations from more than 2,000 leading faculty members, who evaluate the mass of information within the scientific literature and highlight the most important papers in the biological sciences.

Dr. Khodjakov studies the molecular mechanisms of cell division (mitosis), including the centromere. The centromere is a specialized region of chromosomes that helps orchestrate the proper distribution of genetic material. As complex machinery called the mitotic spindle assembles during cell division, chromosomes attach simultaneously to the spindle's poles. This "biorientation" ensures that as mitosis progresses, half of each chromosome migrates to the two new daughter cells.

In the published study, "The centromere geometry essential for keeping mitosis error free is controlled by spindle forces" (Nature, 450(7170):745-9), Dr. Khodjakov showed that the centromere's shape is an important factor in achieving biorientation. Using laser microsurgery and biochemistry with cultured mammalian cells, he determined that the centromere's architecture is important to spindle assembly and that forces generated by cellular pathways called microtubules influence its shape.

The work is a continuation of an earlier study (Science, 311:388-391) that also earned an "exceptional" rating from the Faculty of 1000 Biology.